Safe Haven (REWRITE IN PROGRESS!)
by The Forgotten Traveller
Summary: Not quite human AU. Gilbert Beilschmidt, Kiku Honda, Romano Vargas, Arthur Kirkland and Peter Kirkland. They're the members of a mercenary group, hired by various people looking for others to do their dirty work. Everything was going fine, until they are forced to stay in the house of Gilbert's mysterious friend. Just who is this guy, and why does he seem to know each of them?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Hey, guess what? I don't own Hetalia. Or Canada. Or anything, really. So there.**

**Enjoy, and please tell me what you think.**

* * *

As Gilbert was running for his life, he came to realize a few things.

For one, it really was a terrible idea to send Arthur and Romano out together, just the two of them, and Gilbert should never do it again.

This is because they always end up fucking each other, which was all good and fun, but their ridiculous sex drive messed with the entire group's plans. On more than one occasion, Gilbert had been forced to drag the Brit and the Italian from whatever god-forsaken hole they were "busy working" in.

Or hotel room.

Or an alleyway.

Or someone's backyard.

Or even _a secluded fucking road_.

...Really, it didn't matter to them. As long as it was a semi-stable surface- vertical or horizontal, they weren't picky - there was a good chance the two would end up there, screwing. Which took a while. If there was a job that needed to be done in a few hours, and for some reason Romano and Arthur were stuck doing it, it simply wouldn't get done.

This job was relatively easy. They only needed to intimidate some political leader that owed money to some thieves' guild. The pay was generous, as was the time slot. Gilbert had talked it over with Kiku beforehand, and they had both reluctantly agreed the very-dynamic duo could probably handle it.

Peter was not invited to this meeting because, as the biased younger brother of Arthur, he would have ultimately forced his way into going on the mission. Gilbert, as a somewhat responsible adult with a younger brother, acted on his brotherly instincts and would leave Peter with Kiku.

Gilbert had discussed the situation with Arthur and Romano, and the two promised they'd behave. Not a thing would go wrong, they said. It would be like they were never even there.

Yeah. Fucking. Right.

Not even an hour after arriving at the relatively large village, they had been caught. They meaning Romano and Arthur. The two had been caught fucking in the chapel inside of the lord's mansion, and were immediately taken to the local prison for, as the captain of the guard said, "committing a deadly sin in a sacred place". They were to be hanged the next dawn, without a trial.

When the news reached the tavern Gilbert had chosen to stay in, the albino had hit his head on the table, and went to get Kiku and Peter from their room.

"Come on," he muttered lowly, gritting his teeth and glaring at nothing in particular, "we have to go get our stupid fuckers from getting executed."

Kiku sighed softly, "Of course. What do we need?

At the same time, Peter groaned, annoyed. "Again?"

"Get your knives, Keeks. Peter, act like Arthur and Romano are your demon-possessed cousins. Cry a little, maybe. That seems to work." Gilbert ordered, catching his own sword automatically from Kiku.

Peter mockingly saluted and rolled his eyes, while Kiku did as he was asked, and they set out.

* * *

Arthur saw the trio first.

"...Is that Gil?" He wondered out loud, squinting in the darkness from the uncomfortable bench in the cell.

"Of fucking course it is. Do you know anyone else with glowing red eyes? 'Cause I sure as hell don't." The Italian said loudly, and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, piss off, Rome. I was just wondering, you idiot." Arthur replied.

"And I was just saying. No need to insult me."

"I wouldn't say that. It was pretty insulting to me when those guards found us in the damn church, and that was entirely your fault."

"Was it? I didn't really hear you complaining. Maybe you should be louder next time, no?"

"...Shut up."

"Huh. I don't remember you saying that, either. I distinctly recall you telling me to be 'as loud as possible, stop biting your hand, and let those beautiful sou-"

"_Shut the fuck up, you crazy Italian, before I make it so you will never make another noise again._" Arthur cut in, embarrassed and cheeks red.

Romano laughed and ruffled the Brit's hair. "Oh, you know you love me. C'mon, let's go. Gil's waiting for us."

He stood up and went to the cell door. After examining its lock for a few seconds, he crouched down and pulled out a lock pick from his shoe, showing it to Arthur.

"Remember, young one. Always come prepared." Romano said, and put the pick into the lock. He fiddled with it momentarily, and the lock opened. Pushing the door open, he held out his hand to Arthur with a smile on his face.

However, Arthur was close to furious. "_What the actual fuck. _We could have gotten out hours ago?! Why didn't you do this earlier? We could have been done already!" He complained to the brunet, folding his arms over his chest.

Romano tried to refrain from rolling his eyes again, as to not aggravate the blonde. "I'm sorry, _biondo_. I just thought they might have come sooner, so I did nothing. Besides," he smirked, "I thought you might've wanted to spend some more time with me. Was I incorrect?"

Arthur glared at Romano, but still grabbed his outstretched hand and walked out of the cell.

Gilbert, Kiku, and Peter were waiting further down the hall. Gilbert was leaning against the wall, while Peter walked around aimlessly and Kiku stood still, off to the side.

Their leader scowled at the duo once they were close enough to see each other clearly.

"I was going to slap you into next week, you know. Why must you two always, _always_ feel the need to fuck everything up?! We could've been done and outta here by now, but no! Explain yourselves!" Gilbert demanded, clenching his fists.

"Technically speaking, we didn't fuck _everything_ up. Just each other." Romano interjected, holding up a finger.

Arthur instantly went red, and put his hands up to his temple.

Kiku choked on air and and covered his face, also blushing.

Peter laughed loudly and gave Romano a thumbs-up sign.

Gilbert tried to be stern, but the corners of his frowning lips were twitching upwards. "Seriously, you two. Can't you just keep it in your pants for one fucking job? Is it really that hard?"

The two nodded in unison, causing Peter to laugh again. Gilbert turned to the shortest blonde. "Peter, don't laugh. You shouldn't even know what sex is at your age." He said, looking at Peter disapprovingly.

Romano cut in, "He's fucking around with my younger brother, Gil. I think he's old enough."

Peter whipped his head around to stare at the brunet in horror. "H-how did you know that?" He whispered.

The Italian chuckled, and tapped the side of his head. "Magic, kid. Magic."

Arthur rolled his eyes, having recovered from the embarrassing episode. "Don't listen to him, Peter. He doesn't even have magic. Marcello told him." He explained.

Romano hit his arm, and opened his mouth to say something, but Gilbert interrupted.

"Okay. Shut up, everyone. Let's just go before someone finds us, and you all can banter on the way back. We'll just have to tell the boss some complications came up, and we'll do this one another time."

He walked towards the door. Everyone did shut up, and followed him out into the night.

* * *

As they neared the tavern, a male middle aged guard was walking in the opposite direction, and passed the group.

"Hello, people!" He called out to them happily. Romano turned his head, Arthur looked up, and the guard lost his friendly tone. His eyes got wide, and he pointed at the Italian and the Brit. "You there! Where do you think you're going, criminals?"

Romano swore under his breath and looked pointedly at the ground.

Arthur stared into the sentry's eyes and snapped his fingers. The guard froze up, and collapsed onto the ground. People had stopped to watch the scene, and the crowd was slowly growing bigger.

"Run, run, run, run!" The blonde yelled, and took off. Romano was first to follow, and everyone else started sprinting to the village gates right after.

"What the fuck, Arthur?!" Gilbert shouted over the exclamations of all the villagers. "Couldn't you just have left the man alone?"

Arthur glanced back for a second at Gilbert, and grinned wildly. "Of course not!"

Another thing Gilbert realized was that the people he surrounded himself with were absolutely fucking crazy. Maybe not Kiku as much, he was pretty calm, but as for everyone else? Fucking idiots!

However, the albino would admit- not out loud, of course -that Arthur, Romano, Kiku and Peter were some of the best people he had ever met. The five of them had been doing missions together since what seemed like forever, and they had all seen each other through thick and thin.

That didn't mean they weren't all dumbasses, though.

A few minutes later, they had made it into the woods around the village. Arthur stopped immediately, and rested against a nearby tree.

Romano stood beside him, breathing without a hitch.

Peter and Kiku caught their breath, and Gilbert rounded on Arthur. "Dammit! What the hell were you thinking back there? It would have been just fine if we kept walking, you know! Now we have to find somewhere to stay. Did you see any sort of sheltered place when we were coming here? Please enlighten me." He growled, stepping closer to the Brit.

Arthur put his hands up. "I'm sorry, Gil. I didn't think it out. Besides, I wasn't expecting you to be angry about it. I'll think ahead more in the future." He explained calmly, not afraid of the Prussian.

Peter nodded. "He's right. It's not like you to get angry at my stupid brother for doing something stupid. He always does stuff like this, especially with Rome, but you always either go along with it or just roll your eyes or something." He mused, looking at Gilbert.

"_Hai_. I, too, am curious." Kiku added, "Are you alright, Gilbert-san? It has come to my attention you have been acting somewhat strange since our latest job. I do not mean to pry, but is it about your sister and Feliciano-san being together?"

Gilbert snorted. "Those two? No, it's not them. Good for them, though. Everyone already knew they'd get together. It was totally just a matter of time, right Romano?" He laughed, the anger dissipating from his system.

The Italian closed his eyes. "It was it was written in the stars." He mock swooned, making Arthur chuckle and Gilbert grin.

"Yeah, pretty much. Those two were practically eye-fucking each other since they first met. And as much as I'd love to keep yapping on about my sister's sex life, we really do need to find somewhere to go for the night. Kiku," Gilbert started, turning towards him, "do you have any idea where we are? These three have the directional sense of a fucking rock, and I didn't check."

Romano lifted a finger to protest, but shrugged and nodded, leaning back on the tree.

Kiku was silent for a minute. "Ah...we are still in Canada, Gilbert-san. Somewhere in the middle. However, I am unsure of the exact location. " He decided.

Gilbert's eyes went wide. "W-what? Canada? Are you absolutely sure, Kiku?!" He demanded, looking around at the forest.

The raven haired one blinked, taken aback by Gilbert's excited state. "_Hai._ Did you not remember us entering this country? It was not that long ago…"

"I'm too awesome for that," he mumbled distractedly, "did you say the middle?"

"Yes. May I ask what your plans are for shelter?"

Gilbert grinned widely. "I know someone close by, and there's no way he'll refuse us. C'mon, guys."

He started walking in a set direction, the smile still on his face. Reluctantly, his friends followed him, wondering who this was and where their Gilbert had gone.

"Where the hell are we even going? We've been walking for almost two hours now! This is boring." Romano complained loudly, throwing his head back.

Arthur scoffed and hit the Italian on the back of the head lightly. "Says the cold hearted assassin trained from birth to handle 'any situation those fuckers dare throw at me.'" He imitated Romano, smirking.

Romano glared at his lover without anger. "Fuck you."

"Oh, gladly. Whenever, and wherever."

"Seriously. Go to hell."

"I'll see you there, love."

"...I hate you so much."

"Of course. How could I forget? You're always saying it."

"We've been over this, dumbass. I don't actually mean i-"

Peter sighed loudly, interrupting the couple. "Shut up, you two. Gil obviously doesn't care what we think right now. He's way too distracted about finding this house. And we're gonna follow him no matter where he goes, because that's what we do. You two certainly aren't helping." He said, effectively stopping the complaining.

Arthur looked at his brother distastefully. "Like you never complain? Never argue? Yeah right, kid. You're always going on about how 'no one appreciates me for who I am, _wahhh_, nobody loves me!' You sound like an angsty teenager!"

"I am _not_ an angsty teenager! I'm older than that!" Peter argued, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting a little.

"Oh, piss off. You're younger than me, which means I have more experience, which means I know what I'm talking about! So shut up!"

"Ugh! You're always doing this to me, you jerk! I don't care if you're older, that doesn't mean you're automatically better than me."

"I never said I was better than you, Peter. I'm just saying I have more experience, and that you're still growing! And still-growing people can be angsty."

"Yeah, well I-"

"Shut the fuck up, you guys." Gilbert ordered, rolling his eyes, "I can't concentrate with the sound of you two arguing your throats raw. Peter, Arthur's trying to be a good older brother and do what he thinks is best for you. He sucks at it, yeah, but give him some credit for trying. Arthur, Peter is older than you think. Trust me. I watched him as he was growing up. He may complain about his lack of acknowledgement, but he wasn't all that loved as a kid. So shut up about it, and be a little nicer, will you?"

Arthur and Peter both stared at their leader.

"Yessir." They said in unison, looking at the ground.

Kiku smiled, and Romano laughed.

* * *

After another half hour or so, the sun went down. Gilbert was still walking on, as was Peter, but the other three found it getting increasingly harder to see.

Arthur frowned, and muttered something under his breath. All of the sudden, an orb of white light appeared over their heads.

"There we go. This should help." He said proudly, a smile on his face.

"I wasn't having any trouble." Peter pointed out, confused.

"Well, we're not all spawns of -" Arthur started, but Gilbert cut him off with a loud shout. He suddenly ran forward, to a destination no one else saw.

Peter frowned, then squinted. "Are those lights?" He wondered out loud, and started jogging in the same direction Gilbert went.

The remaining blonde sighed, and sped up his pace. "Whatever. Let's go." He mumbled.

Arthur, Romano and Kiku caught up to the duo and looked up, the sight stopping them in their tracks.

In front of them was a large mansion, Even though it was still a ways ahead of them, they could still tell the place was much larger than a lot of places they had ever been to.

Gilbert was staring at the mansion with a large smile on his face, as well as a nostalgic look.

"There it is…" He said softly, "there's where we're staying."

Romano blinked, surprised. "Wow. All this time I've known you, but I didn't know you had any rich friends." He admitted.

The albino laughed quietly. "He's not really rich. Money's not exactly something he cares about. Also, he'd not my friend."

Kiku frowned. "Ah, Gilbert-san? If not your friend, then may I ask what he is to you?"

"You'll see soon."

And with that, Gilbert walked towards the mansion. The others trailed behind him a distance, wary of their new surroundings.

Gilbert bounded up the steps and knocked loudly on the large wooden doors. He looked behind him at the others at motioned them forward silently.

Soft footsteps could be heard from inside, and everyone instinctively shut up so they could hear them.

The steps paused right before the door, and a very quiet voice called out, "Yes?"

Gilbert's grin became wider, if possible. "I don't suppose you could let some weary travellers in for the night, little bird?" He called back.

They heard a sharp gasp, and a door was cracked open just enough for a slim, pale arm to reach out and grab Gilbert, pulling him inside and shutting the door.

Kiku started, and Romano put his ear up against the doors to listen. He heard nothing, and sighed through his nose.

"Dammit. What the hell is going on?" He whispered and looked at the door, as if trying to see through it.

"Beats me." Arthur replied just as quietly, and Kiku nodded.

Romano turned to the last member. "Peter? You've spent the most time with Gilbert. Do you know who lives here?"

The blonde boy smiled. "I do. I can't tell you, though. Gil told me I had to keep it a secret." He answered.

Romano nodded faintly, thinking. "Alright. I'm not going to ask who it is, but are they a threat to Gilbert or us?" He asked.

Just then, the door opened back up and Gilbert stepped back out with his hair ruffled, cheeks reddened, and a wild grin on his face.

Arthur recognized his state immediately, and laughed. "Definitely not a threat, then." The Brit decided.

"Guys," Gilbert began, "I got us a place to stay."

* * *

Translations:

**hai**: yes (Japanese)

**biondo**: blonde (Italian

Hey, everyone. Yeah, I finally got my ass into gear and made this. I have some of the rest of it planned out, but it might take a while for me to finish the next chapter.

...Right. So, if you read the summary, and the story, you'd know these guys aren't countries. They're also not humans. I gave a couple hints as to what Gilbert and Peter are, I did tell you who Romano is- he is the human one, but with benefits -and I hope you have no fucking clue as to what Kiku is. I'll tell you later.

I really hope you all enjoy this I'd also like it if you reviewed. It doesn't even have to be about the story. I've started reviewing a lot on other fics, and its actually really enjoyable. But, you don't have to, of course. I can't force you.

Think of this as a birthday present from me to you. Except, tomorrow's my birthday, and probably not yours. I decided to give myself the present of finally publishing this piece of crap.

See you soon,

The Forgotten Traveller~

(PS, if you find any mistakes, or something's not matching up, please tell me.)


	2. Chapter 2

_Just then, the door opened back up and Gilbert stepped back out with his hair ruffled, cheeks reddened, and a wild grin on his face._

_Arthur recognized his state immediately, and laughed. "Definately not a threat, then." The Brit decided._

"_Guys," Gilbert began, "I got us a place to stay."_

* * *

Romano's eyes widened. "Oh? And how much of your soul did you have to sell for it?" He teased with a faint smile on his face. _Gilbert hasn't looked this happy for a while..._the brunet thought gladly.

Gilbert did his strange cackle. "That's the best part. None of it! Well, if I had a soul still, that is. But I'm too awesome for my body to contain a puny soul like yours." He explained, placing his hands on his hips and smirking.

Peter rolled his blue eyes, and shook his head. "Whatever, Gil. You just keep thinking that, alright? I might believe you someday. Or not."

"Hey! That's rude. I never even wanted a soul anyways. They're dumb as fuck, and just tie you to places you don't want to stay in. Am I right? I'm right. Of course I am." The albino nodded.

"It's not rude! It's the truth. You suck at lying, Gil." The smallest blonde pointed out.

"_Ja, ja. _Whatever helps you sleep at night, kiddo." Gilbert laughed, ruffling Peter's hair much like a father would to a son, and Peter glared furiously at his elder while running his hands through his hair to fix it.

"Jackass." Peter muttered, pouting. Arthur gasped.

"Peter! Who taught you to say that?!" He demanded, stepping closer to his brother.

Both Romano and Peter rolled their eyes in syncopation and mumbled sarcastically, "Oh, I don't know."

Arthur huffed and opened his mouth to say something, apparently thought better of it, and promptly shut it again, cheeks red.

Kiku interjected, bowing his head slightly. "_Sumimasen_, Gilbert-san, but what are we doing out here in the dark when this is the house we are staying in?" He asked politely and calmly.

"Oh, right. Yeah, Matt said it'll be a minute before we could come in. Apparently he wasn't 'prepared for guests right at this moment.' Well, that's pretty much what he said. It was more like, 'oh, gee! Gilbert, you handsome devil! I love you so much, you can stay here whenever you want!'" Gilbert explained loudly, imitating an annoyingly high-pitched noise. "Or, at least, he would've said that if he _actually_ loved me, the heartless bastard!"

The Japanese man gasped softly, then blushed, embarrassed, and covered his mouth.

"What the fuck?" Romano hissed, glaring at his leader. "You don't treat your lover like that, you piece of shit!"

Gilbert rolled his eyes, ignoring the Italian and held up three fingers, as if counting. "Three...two...on-"

He was cut off by a slam from somewhere in the house. Loud footsteps came next, slowly leading towards the door. Then, they stopped. Everyone but Gilbert waited with bated breath for the door to open and their host to finally appear.

The large, wooden doors swiftly opened, and the mercenaries heard Matthew before they saw him.

"_Excuse me?_ Do you doubt I love you, you fucking demon..." The man framed in the spilling light from inside the house exclaimed vehemently, before pausing abruptly and mumbling shyly, "Oh...u-um, I'm sorry about that. My name is Matthew. It's, uh, very nice to meet you all…"

* * *

The first thing Romano noticed were the stark-white bandages covering Matthew's eyes. _Blind, huh?...Or maimed by a deformity, perhaps...Strange. How did he get down here so fast? And how does he even see us? _The assassin shook his head slightly, giving a half-smile. _I'll never figure Gilbert out..._

Kiku guessed that the man- if a man he was -was slightly shorter than Gilbert himself, by at the most a couple of inches. Matthew had wavy blonde hair that went a hair past his chin. There was an errant curl bobbing in front of the blonde's face, and Kiku resisted the urge to brush it away.

Arthur saw the aura of magic Matthew had about him, and was quite surprised. The man looked to be in his early twenties at most, but he gave off the impression of having great magic inside of him. However, Arthur noticed the magic wasn't like any kind he had noticed before. A faint and hazy black sheet outlined Matthew's figure, and Arthur became scared. Black was not a good color for magic. In Arthur's opinion, it was the worst color there was.

Black meant unstable. Black meant mystery. But most importantly...black meant death.

* * *

Peter squealed, and took a running jump to throw his arms around Matthew with a loud cry of '_Mattie!_'. The older blonde staggered back a step, then laughed quietly and held onto Peter.

"Heya, Peter! How's it going, kid?" Matthew asked kindly, smiling.

"Awesome!" The boy replied, and let himself down from Matthew's arms, only to envelop him in a bone-crushing hug. "I missed you so much, Mattie! Man, it was so _boring_ without you. I bet Gil was bored, too. Weren't you, Gil?" Peter asked, turning to the albino.

"_Ja_, Peter. I was really bored." Gilbert smirked, and winked at Matthew.

Matthew sighed softly and turned his attention back to Peter. "Did you keep this one in check?" He asked, jerking his thumb to Gilbert.

Peter grinned widely and nodded. "Yes, sir! Just like you asked." He replied, saluting the older blonde.

"That's good." Matthew laughed, "Now, I'm sure your friends would love to come inside. They're probably going to catch colds, oh dear…Come in! I'm sorry, sirs. Please, come in." The host gestured to his house, and led the adventurers inside.

Romano looked at his surroundings, eyes wide. As he stood in the hall the doors had led to, he let out a low whistle of approvement.

The walls were a light grey color, and Romano followed them up, towards a lit chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. A little in the distance to his left, a staircase led up to what the Italian assumed was another floor, or an indoor balcony.

Near the end of the long hall, Romano saw the walkway turned a corner behind two sets of black doors facing each other. There were no clues as to what lay beyond the doors, and for some reason, he didn't really want to know.

He noticed there were little to no personal decorations from what he could see, and everything was almost impeccably spotless. A few small rugs littered the floor here and there, but that was the extent of it.

The Italian was about to ask why it looked like no one lived in the house, but then he looked up and saw the bandages around Matthew's eyes. He felt like an idiot then. _Of course this place look uninhabited, the guy's blind! But...he saw us immediately, somehow. And picked Peter up...hm. Strange._ Romano pondered.

"Oh, um. So, this is my house. Where you'll be staying, of course. A-ah, unless you don't want to, that is...but if you asked me, I'd rather stay in a warm, dry place like this than outside...where it's dark and cold...and scary..." Matthew trailed off, voice getting quieter and quieter until Romano had to strain even his own well-trained ears to hear.

Gilbert frowned. "_Vögel_…?" He inquired softly, his voice gentle.

Matthew turned to Gilbert and tilted his head. "Mhmm?"

"...It's freezing in here. I can almost see my breath, I think." He admitted.

Romano could see the confusion etched on Matthew's face, as the blonde processed what Gilbert told him.

"It's...it's not warm?" He asked with a small voice, and Romano actually felt bad for the man.

"No. Remember? It might be warm for you, _liebe_, but not for us."

The blonde bit his lip, and Romano saw he had started shaking a little. Without warning, Matthew turned sharply towards the staircase, and walked briskly to it. A few steps before he reached it, he started to fade. Right when he would have touched the first step, he had disappeared completely.

Arthur barely held back a gasp, his eyes wide and scared. "No…" He whispered, terror filling his voice. Before Romano could ask what was the matter, Gilbert interrupted with a disappointed sigh.

"I really hoped he would've made it this time…he's getting so much better" He muttered to himself, then said louder, "I'm sorry about that. He does that sometimes. The more he gets used to you, the better he'll get. He's just really shy."

Kiku nodded in sympathy, being terribly shy himself.

Peter groaned. "Oh, c'mon! What's up with him?" He complained, already trudging to the stairs and climbing up them.

Gilbert swore under his breath, and let the boy go. He turned back to his friends, a fake smirk on his face. Romano doubted any of the others noticed. "Alright. Peter'll take care of Matt, I know it. So, I'll show you to your rooms. Let's go." He ordered, taking the same route the other two had.

Arthur shook his head wildly. "There's no bloody way I'm staying with a lunatic like him!" He objected, making to the doors leading outside.

Their leader froze, before whipping his head around so fast Romano swore he could practically hear it crack. "What. Did you call him?" He asked, as calm as he had ever been, and for the first time since the Italian had known the Prussian, Romano was scared of him.

Arthur stopped, and slowly turned around. He noticed the deadly tone of voice as well. "...Nothing, sir." He replied lowly, slinking back to Romano's side.

"That's what I thought." Gilbert said, still with that calm voice. "Now, if there are any other poorly judged opinions of my love from you, I would like to hear them."

The remaining blonde shuffled, looking down at his feet. "N-no, sir." He answered meekly, absolutely unlike the Arthur Romano fell in love with.

"Good. Now, rooms." The albino decided, putting a smile on his face that didn't quite match, and walked up the stairs.

Romano gently took Arthur's hand, and led him up the numerous stairs onto the next floor.

"Sorry about that." Romano muttered, giving his lover's hand a squeeze.

The Brit shook his head. "I-it's alright. Not your fault, Rome."

"But still…"

"It's alright." Arthur said more firmly this time.

Romano hummed, and looked up to see where they were going. Another hall spread out before them, but this one was longer and dimly lit, leaving most of the details to their own imaginations.

He caught Kiku's worried brown eyes, and gave a small smile and a shake of his head. The raven haired male frowned faintly, but dropped the matter and turned his attention back onto Gilbert.

After about eight doors, Gilbert stopped. "You'll be staying here," He stated, voice lacking the normal cocky tone, pointing to the two doors to either side of him. "There are bathrooms in the rooms, and everything you should need. However, if you do need anything, I'll be in the room at the end of the hall. Knock first. Peter will be sent back shortly. If anything- anything at all -knocks or tries to enter, _do not_, under any circumstances whatsoever, open your door until it is light outside. Also, do not leave. You will regret it. I will personally come and get you in the morning. Understood?"

The three nodded in unison, too startled by Gilbert's behavior to say anything.

Without another sound, Gilbert turned and started towards the end of the hall.

Romano spoke up first, glancing at his companions. "Uh, do either of you care if we all stay in the same room?" he asked, "Because, GIlbert's scaring me. I don't want to meet anything that lives here, and we're all better prepared together."

"I agree." Kiku said with a sharp nod.

"...Of course. To be honest, he scared me, too." Arthur supplied, eyes glued to the darkness at the end of the hall.

"Alright. Now, we wait for Peter?" Romano suggested, now looking at the darkness as well. It might have been just his imagination, but he thought he saw the shadows move. And it wasn't because of the candles placed few and far between the long passage.

As if on cue, the shortest mercenary appeared not a minute later and walked towards them.

Kiku smiled faintly, secretly relieved they didn't have to stay in the dark hall any longer. "Ah, if I may ask: How is our host?" He asked politely.

"Mattie's alright now." Peter answered, then glared at his brother, "No thanks to you, though."

Arthur spluttered, offended. "What? What did _I _do?" He demanded.

"Well, you called him the l-word earlier. He heard that, you know. It's rude to insult your host." Peter stated matter-of-factly, hands on his hips.

"How did he even hear me? He was gone before I even said it!" The Brit retaliated with a slightly confused expression on his face.

Peter made a tsking sound, and tapped the side of his head. "That doesn't mean he can't hear you."

The older blonde rolled his eyes and shook his head, choosing not to answer his brother's ridiculous statement. _Yeah...of course Matthew can hear me. Is this guy even for real? _He asked himself as he opened the door to their room.

Romano followed after, and Kiku allowed Peter to go before him- "_Thanks, Keeks!_" -before entering himself.

Arthur realized he was actually quite exhausted, and noticed only a few beds silhouetted in the moonlight streaming from the large windows, as well as what were probably bookshelves or some kind of shelf lining the opposite wall.

He kicked off his shoes in front of the bed- cringing at his ungentlemanly behavior, but too tired to care -and, grabbing his lover's hand, dragged the two of them onto the bed.

"_Buonanotte, biondo mio…_" Romano mumbled, tired as well.

"...Good night to you, too, I think…" Arthur replied.

It was not long before sleep overtook him.

* * *

Well, well, well...what do we have here? Another chapter? Me actually progressing in something for once?

(Let's just pretend I didn't do this in a day and a half, okay? Okay.)

Didja like it? I sure did. I like where this story's heading, too.

So, I think I made it kind of obvious about who's what. But, if you didn't catch it, here's what you should know now:

Romano's an assassin, and a very good one at that.

Arthur is a wizard. Shocking, right? This one's a little bit subtler, but he did do that flame thingy in the first chapter. And he can sense people's magical auras.

Kiku...well, you'll see. I'll tell you later, yeah?

Gilbert and Peter are the same thing. Tell me your guesses, if you want to. I'd like to know what you thought.

And finally, Matthew. Well...he's a special one. You'll see.

That's that...oh! And I'm going to try and update on a weekly basis, as that seems to work for me.

Now, for the important thing: I'd really like to thank Miss. Kathryn, Daughter of Hestia for her undying support of me and this story. She's super sweet, and you should totally check her out. (You won't regret it!)

Thank you so, so much for your help, Kathryn. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

Translations:

Vogel: bird

Liebe: love

Sumimasen: Excuse me

Buonanotte, biondo mio: Good night, blonde of mine

Anyways, that's all for now. See you soon!

The Forgotten Traveller~


	3. Chapter 3

FLASHBACK TIME, GUYS! PREPARE YOURSELVES.

* * *

"_Buonanotte, biondo mio…" Romano mumbled, tired as well._

"_...Good night to you, too, I think…" Arthur replied._

_It was not long before sleep overtook him.'_

* * *

Arthur, now a child, walked down the winding path that passed through the forest behind his house. He hummed happily, innocent big green eyes observing the scenery around him. Arthur could sense the magic this place contained, and he was quite curious as to where it came from and what form it came in. Was it the forest as a whole, he wondered, or was there some powerful thing- or someone -dwelling inside?

As he ventured further into the woods, the blonde boy noticed the foliage was getting thicker and thicker. The number of trees was increasing, and they took on a ominous blackened hue, and the plants seemed to be gaining pigment, making them a deep, dark green. To some people, Arthur supposed, this would start to get creepy or intimidating, but he found it calming. He preferred the singing of the birds over human chatter any day.

What he didn't notice, however, was that the birds had stopped their singing a few minutes back.

The sunlight became dimmer as the tree canopy became denser. Arthur figured he would have to either go back soon, or climb up one of the trees to see if it was dark out yet. He frowned. He didn't really want to go back to his house, though. His brothers were there, and as much as he loved them, they would always pick on him and make fun.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the person sitting on a fallen log to his left.

Arthur jumped, startled, and turned to face the person, whom, within the first second Arthur looked at them, was a male who looked like he was in his early twenties, late teens. The young man had honey blonde hair that was cut off at his chin, and his eyes were a deep blue- almost purple - and Arthur saw warmth an friendliness. He wore a simple brown traveller's cloak with dark pants, an equally dark long sleeved shirt, and tall brown sturdy looking boots.

What Arthur's attention was focused on was, however, the large folded bird-like wings resting behind the man. Most boys Arthur's age, or anyone for that matter, would have been scared or possibly intimidating, but to the young boy, those wings looked as natural as an arm or a leg, and he was curious.

"Hello," Arthur chirped, a little unsure of whether to bow or shake the man's hand or something like that but he didn't want to offend, so he simply put his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. "My name's Arthur. May I ask your name?"

The young man started slightly, as if he didn't notice the boy in front of him. Then he smiled, and Arthur felt safe.

"Oh, hello, Arthur!" He replied in a soft voice, " I didn't see you there for a second. I'm Matthew. It's nice to meet you."

Arthur beamed. This man, Matthew, seemed nice. Maybe Arthur could finally have a friend…? "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mister Matthew!"

Matthew blinked and laughed. Arthur liked the sound. "Thank you, but just Matthew is fine. You're so polite!" He exclaimed.

"Yep," Arthur nodded, popping the 'p', "my mama taught me." He explained proudly. He loved his mama.

"Oh? And is she here, your mother?" Matthew asked quietly, tilting his head.

"No, Mis- Matthew. She's at home." Arthur explained, pointing in the direction he came from.

"I see." Matthew nodded as well. He was silent for a moment, before patting the spot next to him on the tree he was sitting on. "Would you care to sit down and rest for a moment? I'm sure you've been walking for a while, and that generally makes people tired- or so I've noticed."

The boy thought about the offer. Matthew seemed very nice, but his mama always said to not get too close to strangers. He frowned and voiced his concerns.

Matthew thought as well, then smiled. "Well, let's not be strangers then. My name is Matthew Williams, and I live in Canada. Quite far away from here, if I am correct? Anyways, my favorite color is white, my favorite animal is a cat, and I'm older than I look. I have a polar bear, his name is Kuma. Hm...oh, and my best friend is a guy named Gilbert. He's pretty funny. There we go. Your turn, Arthur."

"Okay. My name's Arthur Kirkland, and I live here, in England. Uh...my favorite color is...blue, probably. I like cats, too. I think I'm as old as I look, though….And, I don't have a best friend. I do not have a polar bear, but there a couple of cats that come around for scraps. Mama says we shouldn't feed them, but I do anyways."

The man from Canada nodded approvingly. "See? Now we're not strangers."

"You're right. I should like to be friends with you, if you don't mind." Arthur said, and hopped up on the log.

"Not at all."

The two were silent for a minute, admiring the forestry, before Arthur spoke up. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Are you a fairy?"

Matthew looked down at Arthur strangely. "Why would you think that?"

"Your wings." Arthur answered as if it was obvious.

The elder glanced behind him, like he had forgotten the wings were even there. "Oh, those? No, Arthur. I'm just trying these out. I like them, but I'm not sure if I'll keep them." Matthew stated, and added, "Are _you _a fairy?"

Arthur sighed sadly. "No. I wish I was, though. It'd be so nice. And if I had wings like yours, too. But I'm just Arthur, and that means I'm pretty human."

Matthew studied Arthur for a long minute, but it didn't make the boy uncomfortable for some reason he couldn't explain.

"Arthur, can you see magic?" He asked slowly, watching the other's expression.

Arthur hesitated, before deciding he could most likely trust the not-fairy. "Yes, I can." He said and nodded.

"That's what I thought. Do you know anyone else who can?"

"No. Why?"

"You're very special, Arthur. Did you know that?"

"...No. I thought it was a curse. My brothers think so. I don't believe they like me." Arthur admitted, thinking back on all the times his brothers had mocked him, and treated him poorly. He didn't like it, not one bit.

"It's not a curse." Matthew said with such firmness Arthur looked up to see if it was still the Matthew he was sitting by. It was. "Arthur, please don't let anyone tell you it's a curse. Seeing magic is a gift, given only to those who deserve it."

Arthur was surprised, and a little conflicted. All his life he had been told that he should not ever say anything about his ability, but no one ever said why. But he supposed Matthew wouldn't know why, so instead he asked: "Can you see magic, then?"

Matthew laughed again, but not condescendingly. "I can do more than that. I can use it, too." He revealed, causing Arthur to gasp quietly.

"R-really?!" He demanded, unbelieving. "Can you really, Matthew?"

"Mhmm." Matthew confirmed, "and, if you want, I can teach you to, as well." He offered kindly.

Arthur was speechless. No one had ever wanted to teach him magic, of all things, before! He wouldn't pass this up for the world. So that's what he said.

"Very well," Matthew said, possibly amused, "will you come back here tomorrow then? I'll be here, and we'll start our lessons."

Without warning, Arthur put his arms around the older blonde. "Thank you," he murmured, "I just- thank you, Matthew."

Matthew leaned into the embrace and smiled softly. "Matt. That's what my friends call me. Call me Matt."

Arthur grinned. "Thank you, Matt."

* * *

The next day, as promised, Arthur went back into the forest. After a few minutes of wandering, he found the Canadian in the same spot as he was the previous day.

"Maaatt!" He exclaimed, running up and hugging Matthew. The other blonde laughed and ruffled Arthur's hair affectionately. Arthur didn't mind as much when Matthew did it, as opposed to his brothers.

"It's good to see you as well, Arthur." Matthew greeted, walking to the fallen tree and sitting back down. Arthur followed and sat right next to Matthew without hesitation this time. "Hm...wasn't there something you wanted me to teach you yesterday?" He teased, looking down at the other.

Arthur pouted, folding his arms. "Magic, Matt! Don't you remember?" He asked.

"Magic?" Matthew repeated, looking confused. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Now c'mon, let's start!" Arthur dragged Matthew off the log and into the clearing in front of it. "C'mon, c'mon!"

"Okay, okay." Matthew laughed, and stood in the center of the little clearing with sunlight filtering down on him. Arthur thought he looked particularly magical in that moment. "What do you want to know first?"

Arthur paused. He hadn't thought about that yet. He had been so preoccupied with the concept of learning magic he had completely forgotten what it was he even wanted to learn. "Um...I don't know…" He admitted, looking at his feet.

Matthew smiled not unkindly. "That's alright. I think I know something you'll like. It's pretty easy, too, so you should be fine. Do you like fairies?"

"Fairies?" Arthur wondered. "Yes, I love them!"

"They love you, too, Arthur. I've been talking with them, you see." Upon the disbelieving look Arthur gave him, Matthew continued with a chuckle, "They would very much enjoy it if you spoke with them as well."

"Oh...really? Well, I don't want to disappoint the fairies, now do I? How do I do it?"

"There are only a couple of steps. One, close your eyes. Empty your mind. You'll find it's not really that hard." Matthew instructed, watching the young boy do as he was told with a large smile on his face.

"Okay? Okay. Step two: ask permission to see them. This is very important. Fairies are particularly sensitive, you know, and won't take kindly to people who enter their world without asking first. You don't have to say it out loud. They can hear you. But, be polite. Got that?"

Arthur nodded, not daring to open his eyes, as he did what Matthew said.

"Good. Now, step three. If the fairies grant you permission, you have to promise not to hurt them, or tell someone. I've got a special relationship with these guys, and they trust me because I have not wronged them. Do the same, and you'll find yourself very happy. Trust me on this one.

And the final step. Now, when you open your eyes, don't be disappointed that no one is here. Fairies are also very shy, and it might take a little while for them to trust you enough to show themselves to you. I suggest you leave out a bowl of milk or the like tonight on your porch or in your backyard. Perhaps even your windowsill. Fairies like that, and they might even help out around the house a bit. Who knows?" Matthew finished, a mysterious smile on his face.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes and looked around quickly. He nodded to himself, and made a mental note to sneak some milk out later.

"...And that's it then? How is that magic?" He asked, looking up at his teacher.

"Well, not many people can even see mgic, like you can. That's why you were here yesterday, was it not?"

The boy nodded.

"And besides that, the fairies don't talk to just anyone. Like I said, you're special. Keep that in mind, and you'll go very far." Matthew predicted wisely.

"Oh. Okay then. So...what next?" Arthur asked enthusiastically.

Matthew laughed again. "I think you should go home, and prepare for your fairy friends. They're very excited to meet you. Go on!" He shooed the boy away, smiling as Arthur practically ran back home, tossing a 'thank you' over his shoulder.

* * *

The next morning, Arthur found the milk was gone, and there was a small, beautiful flower in the bottom of the bowl. "Thank you," he said aloud, but he knew the fairies heard him.

Arthur went into the forest every day he could after that, and every day he found Matthew. The older blonde- Arthur never found out if he was human or not, but had assumed the latter -always had something new for Arthur to learn.

In a few years, Arthur had gone from an antisocial naive boy to a well-versed sorcerer. He was now almost a teenager, and Matthew found he was running out of things he could teach Arthur without the possibility of the younger hurting himself.

* * *

One day, Arthur went into the woods as he had for countless days. He had memorized the location of the clearing, and easily found his way.

Matthew, like always, was perched on the tree. It was slowly rotting, and the two agreed they would find a new place soon.

"Hello, Matt," Arthur greeted warmly with a nod, going and sitting next to Matthew, "and how are you?"

"Arthur, I must leave." Matthew blurted out, looking extremely distressed.

"Wh- why?" The Brit stuttered, confused.

"I'm so sorry. You're so good, Arthur. And I can't teach you much else with just me. When you return home, you'll find books on how to further your education in magic."

"Oh," Arthur said, not knowing what else to say.

"And since I cannot teach you, I must leave. There is no way I can stay. I can only hope you'll understand, one way. It...it's been an absolute delight, Arthur. Thank you, so much."

And before Arthur could put in a word otherwise, his mentor had disappeared.

After a few minutes of calling out for Matthew, and asking the fairies, Arthur gave up and went home. The books were there, as promised.

* * *

In the morning, Arthur had forgotten his mentor's name. He thought that was very strange, but couldn't find any spell to reverse the effects.

After a week, Arthur completely forgot about Matthew, and remembered only his teachings, and the warmest smile he had ever received.

* * *

Arthur woke with a start, memories of his old teacher flooding his head. He remembered everything now.

"Bloody hell..."

* * *

Well, how was it? I'm not apologizing at the excessive line breaks, so there.

That was Arthur's dream, and how he knows Matthew. Tune in next week for chapter three, or four, or whatever this is on. Please tell me what you think of it! Plot holes? OOC characters? Grammar mistakes?

And a special thank you to YaoiFanL. I totally forgot to mention them in the previous chapter for their wonderful review, so thank you!

The usual thanks to Miss Kathryn, and to everyone who has favorited and followed my story. Thank you all, so much! I think I cried when I saw how many people have noticed this...

Anyways, that's it! Thank you!

Sincerely,

The Forgotten Traveller~


	4. Chapter 4

_Arthur woke with a start, memories of his old teacher flooding his head. He remembered everything now._

"_Bloody hell…"_

* * *

Romano woke with the sun when he was on the job. There was no explanation for it. He would awake at dawn no matter how little sleep he had gotten the night before. It was a strange thing, for sure, but not particularly bad. The habit came in handy when everyone slept in when on a mission, for example. Which, unsurprisingly, happened quite frequently.

Like right about now, as a matter of fact.

The Italian's eyes opened and he sat up quickly, analyzing his surroundings. It was just as he remembered from the previous night, and he relaxed slightly.

Two beds, one of which he was on, took up one wall of the room. Peter slept on the other bed, and Romano saw Kiku had taken the two chairs- that had presumably been placed around the small table on the other side of the room- and put them together, forming a makeshift bed.

Romano smiled softly. _How Kiku-like, _he thought fondly. The Japanese sword-wielder could sleep anywhere comfortably, and Romano appreciated that ability.

The brunet looked to his right, where Arthur was laying right next to him and facing Romano. Arthur had a peaceful expression on his face, which the Italian enjoyed the sight of. _He should look like that more often...not frustrated, or angry, or injured...just like this, _Romano decided, once more silently vowing to do his absolute best to protect his love.

Arthur stirred, startling Romano from his thoughts. The blonde rolled onto his back and stretched, a quiet yawn emerging from his mouth. He looked around, glancing at Kiku and Peter habitually to see if they were alright before turning his gaze to Romano, who was still looking at him.

The Brit raised a larger-than-normal eyebrow, a small smirk on his face. "Good morning, dear. Might I inquire as to what you're doing?" He whispered, not keen on waking the others.

Romano put on a mock-offended look, dramatically putting a hand to his chest. "When have I ever given you a reason to ask of what I'm doing? You wound me, my life! I am simply admiring you and your beauty...your perfectness. Nothing more, nothing less." The assassin whispered back, grinning and falling back onto the bed with a sigh.

Arthur rolled his eyes, but blushed lightly anyways. "Are you, perhaps, feeling theatrical today?" He asked sarcastically, reluctantly getting out of the bed and going over to physically check on his companions.

"How could you say that? What evidence do you have?" Romano demanded teasingly.

Choosing not to answer, Arthur instead finished making sure Kiku and Peter were alive. After that, he too looked around at the room.

"Hm," he commented, "not much to see, huh? I can't say I was expecting glamorous scenery or anything, but you'd think with the size and grandiose of this place there'd be a little...more."

Romano opened his mouth to say something about the fact that Matthew was probably blind, so of course his house wouldn't need to be fancy, but a sharp knock on the door interrupted him.

"Guys?" A voice called out to them, and Romano recognized it as Gilbert's. "You awake yet?"

The Italian was relieved to hear that Gilbert sounded considerately less angry and cold than the night before. He made a mental note to make Arthur apologize to Matthew the first chance they get.

"Yessir!" Romano stood and answered with a salute, even though he knew Gilbert couldn't see it. "Well, Arthur and I are awake. Are we getting up now?"

"Dumbass, I know you're up. Just- oh, open the door, will you?"

"Now now, Boss. You told us last night to not open the door for anyone, you know. How do we know it's really you?" Romano countered. Dismissively, he wondered why he was acting stranger than normal.

"Good job, Rome. See, I keep you around for a reason." Romano heard a heavy sigh come through the door, and Gilbert continued. "Anyways, your brother Feliciano- more commonly known as Veneziano, is fucking with my brother Ludwig. Your other brother, Marcello, is fucking with Arthur's younger brother, Peter."

"...Okay, but Gilbert could do better than that."

"Very well. You have another brother, Heracles. You don't talk about him much because you're not as close to him as you'd like to be. He's Greek, and you grew up with him rather than Veneziano, who most people think you did. You grandfather was a very influential man of questionable business. You're supposed to take after him when he dies, since Veneziano is younger than you. Oh, and your parents were killed by-"

"_That's enough, Gilbert!_" The Italian all but shouted as he rushed towards the door. He unlocked it quickly and opened the door, storming out past a surprised Gilbert.

The commotion- namely, Romano's yelling -had awoken the sleeping adventurers, and they had sat up, confused.

"Was...that Rome?" Peter mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Whassup with him…?"

No one wanted to answer him.

* * *

Romano threw open the first unlocked door he found. He slammed it shut, and sat against the door, too blinded by fury and embarrassment to even look at his surroundings.

"I can't believe Gilbert was about to...he would've said...that _bastard_!_**"**_ He exclaimed angrily aloud as he crossed his arms and stared in front of him. "I trusted him not to mention anything about my parents ever again, and he goes and almost says everything! How dare he?!"

"...um…" A quiet voice mumbled, causing Romano to start and reflexively pull out a knife he kept hidden in his sleeve for this very reason.

"Who is it?!" He demanded, brandishing the knife as he glared around at the room. Or, it could've been a room, Romano supposed. He noticed the ceiling was shaped strangely, and the room was quite small in comparison to the bedroom the Italian had stayed in the previous night.

He pieced two and two together and figured he was under a staircase, presumably the one they had climbed to go to the said bedroom.

The stranger thing was, he didn't see who the voice belonged to. The room was practically empty, with no furniture or decorations and a simple rug on the floor, along with a few lit candles scattered across the floor haphazardly. He wondered why they were there, when the inhabitant of the house was blind. And, as he came to think of it, the fact that Matthew had seen them the previous night was strange to him as well.

He shook his head slightly, deciding he would think it all over later. Preferably by himself, and somewhere he knew. Not here, under the stairs in some blind guy's enormous house in the middle of Nowhere, Canada.

Romano looked over the small room one more time, and finally, a figure sitting on the floor caught his eye in the dim lighting. He looked at it fully, and saw it was Matthew. The Italian jumped again a little, curious as to how the blonde had escaped his sight.

"Oh, I'm very sorry 'bout that, Romano." Matthew spoke softly, looking down at his lap sheepishly. "Didn't mean to startle you."

Romano blinked, confused, before he gave Matthew a smile. "No no, it's quite alright. Nothing to be sorry about; you're just very quiet! Besides, you are our host. You shouldn't apologize to me." He exclaimed, anger slowly dissipating for a reason Romano didn't know. It was like Matthew, just by being there, was calming him.

Matthew smiled ever so slightly, and looked up at the Italian. Romano noticed now that the bandages were gone, but he still couldn't see any defining features of Matthew's eyes. "Thank you. That's very considerate of you, you know. Ah, on another note, however, did you and your companions sleep well? I would apologize for my breakdown, but you said I couldn't. So, I won't."

"I can't speak for the others, but for myself, I did sleep well. Your house is very lovely. Might I ask how long you've lived here?" Romano asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I hope you like it. My home, that is. It's sort of difficult to keep it clean, and the size doesn't exactly help. I've been here for...oh, quite some time...probably around, oh, five hundred years? Six?" Matthew pondered aloud, tapping his chin in thought.

Romano froze mid-nod. "F-five hundred years?! Are you serious?" He inquired incredulously, eyes wide.

Matthew hummed, before he nodded as well. "Yes...that should be about right. Why? Is that strange?"

"...um...ah, no. I suppose not." Romano replied, dazed. _How is he this old, but I've never heard of him?_

The blonde laughed breathlessly. "Oh, splendid. I'd hoped I wouldn't scare you all away. I figure you all are pretty accepting, given Gilbert and Peter."

"'Given Gilbert and Peter'?" The Italian echoed.

"Well, yes. You know they're both not human, right?"

"Oh, of course I knew that. I wasn't entirely sure what you meant, but I understand now."

"And Kiku, if we'll stay on the topic. He's special, too, isn't he? Ah- not to say you and Arthur are not special, either. I mean a different special. Sorry if I offended you, Romano. Humans are equally as great as anything- anyone -else, and do not let others tell yo-" Matthew was cut off by Romano's laughter.

"You're rambling, Matthew. It's fine, I understand. You're alright." He chuckled, crossing his arms.

A light blush came across the other's face. "Right." He said, embarrassed. "Gil says I do that sometimes."

"Speaking of, might I again ask you a question? What is your relationship with Gilbert?" Romano asked, taking a step closer to the blonde.

"To Gilbert? Oh...u-um, he's...my lover." Matthew admitted, voice growing softer and softer until Romano had to, again, strain his ears to hear it.

"That's what I thought. I want to make sure he's in good hands when he's not with us." The brunet explained.

Matthew looked up at him with a strange expression on his face. "Not...with you? What do you mean?"

"...We're a mercenary group, Matthew. We take jobs for people who can't, or don't. Our little group here, we aren't always together. In between jobs, for example. Arthur and I might be together, but as far as I know, that's it."

The host didn't answer, deep in thought.

"Do you mean to say," Romano prompted, "that Gilbert doesn't stay here when we're not together?"

Matthew shook his head.

"That's...odd, to say the least. I might ask him about it later. He seemed so excited to be here, I had just assumed…" Romano trailed off, now more than a little uncomfortable It wasn't his place to ask what his leader did in his spare time, but he seemed the type to want to spend a lot of time with his lover. _Later, _Romano reminded himself. _Not now._

Romano's host suddenly clapped once, and glanced around at the room with a largely fake smile on his face. "Well! I propose we get out of this room. Quite suffocating, don't you agree? And, besides, I suppose it's about breakfast time now, and I'd hate to disappoint my guests by not showing up and at least cooking for them! Let's go!" He exclaimed with false cheerfulness, and Romano could tell. Matthew stood up- with some difficulty, the Italian noted -and for the first time in many years, Romano saw Matthew's eyes.

They would have been a vibrant purple color, if he wasn't blind. Instead, they were a light milky bluish hue. Romano thought, that if Matthew could have seen, he would have been very popular at the brunet's hometown. Exotic eyes, there were, and that was valued over where Romano lived.

He was yanked from his thoughts when Matthew walked past him and asked for the Italian to follow. So, he did.

He did not, however, remember to ask Matthew how the blonde knew it was Romano, when he had never specifically told Matthew his name.

* * *

By the time Gilbert had calmed Arthur down and got the trio down to the dining room for breakfast, Romano and Matthew were already in the connected kitchen, cooking and laughing together like old friends.

Arthur frowned slightly, very curious as to how the two had become so close in so little time. But then he really looked at the two- specifically Matthew -and his dream came rushing back to him.

This man...wasn't some lunatic killer who was just Gilbert's lover.

No. It was Arthur's friend. His teacher. The man who stoked Arthur's love for magic, and even taught him all he knew. _How...could I have forgotten everything? He was so important to my life...and yet, I didn't remember a single thing until last night. Was it a spell cast on me? _Arthur wondered, gazing at Matthew. The blonde must've felt his stare, because he turned around and faced the Brit. Arthur saw his eyes, and was without a thing to say. Luckily, Matthew did that for him.

"Ah, Arthur," he greeted with an unfamiliar tone, "good morning. You slept well, I presume?"

"...um. Y-yes, you could say that. May I ask, are you really my-" He was cut off by Matthew, who gave a short grin and shook his head.

"Later. I'll talk to you later." He said, and looked at his other three guests, who had seated themselves at one of the tables set up in the dining room. Arthur thought it a little strange to have more than one table, but he didn't comment. "And good morning to you all, as well. I must apologize for my behavior last night. It won't happen again."

Peter rolled his eyes and smiled. "No problem, Matt! We forgive you. Now, where is the delicious breakfast I've missed?" He asked teasingly.

Arthur walked over and sat himself down next to his brother, whom he was about to berate for his rude behavior, but Matthew laughed it off.

"Almost done. Romano and I are just finishing. You know, I should teach you a little something about cooking before you leave again. Heaven knows you need it." Matthew replied, turning his attention back to the kitchen and the meal he was making.

"Hey! My cooking is fine. I can make tons of things! Like toast, and sandwiches, and...and almost eggs, too!" Peter boasted.

"Oh, pardon me," Matthew apologized sarcastically, putting his hands up in a surrender move. "I had no idea you could make such delicacies as those. My mistake."

Gilbert barely held back a laugh, and Kiku's shoulders shook slightly from silent laughter. Peter simply sighed, and put his head on the table, saying dramatically, "No one appreciates me!"

He went ignored as the cooks brought over their meal, setting it down on the table. Arthur looked at the food with widened eyes. There was everything he could have imagined as breakfast food, and then some. He thanked Matthew and Romano profusely, leading the others to do so as well, before taking one of the offered plates and filling it up.

_I can never eat anything again, _Arthur decided as he leaned away from the table. The meal was, not surprisingly, delicious and very filling.

"Thank you again, you two." He said to the two as he looked at them, "It was absolutely delightful. I am looking forward to the next meal!"

"It wasn't a problem, Arthur." Matthew replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah," Romano agreed as he smiled gently at the Brit. "Very easy. And it was fun cooking with you, Matthew. I hope we can do it again sometime?" He asked.

Matthew nodded vigorously, eyes practically sparkling, "Of course! I would love to! Though...how long will you all be staying? That's not to say I want you to go, of course. I enjoy having guests…" He trailed off, looking at Gilbert for an answer.

Gilbert thought for a moment, before quickly glancing at his companions. "I think we should stay until we are all rested up, at least. That should be but a few days. And then...well, we'll see. We will need a way to avoid the townspeople but still get back into the town. That's where most of our stuff is, due to _someone_," he gazed pointedly at Arthur and Romano who, in turn, looked anywhere but each other and Gilbert, "fucking up our plans. I was hoping you could help us there, little bird."

The host nodded again, a concentrated look on his face. "Of course. You'll need either disguises or invisibility...a distraction, perhaps? Oh, where were you all, by the way?" He asked.

"The town nearest here. We sort of ran from there to here." Gilbert admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

Matthew's unseeing eyes widened greatly. "Gil! That's about, what, ten miles away at the least! How could you possibly…" He shook his head, dismissing the information. "Never mind. You know what, I'll get your things. You need to rest after your journey."

Kiku interjected then, surprising himself. "We couldn't possibly accept that, Matthew-san. You've already done so much for us, it would be rude to take advantage of you like that. Besides, that is too much for you to take in one trip, and more than one would be suspicious."

Matthew smiled. "Oh, I think I can manage. I appreciate your concern, but it's the least I can do." He paused before adding quietly, "After all, I get to see you all again.."

Gilbert heard the last comment, and turned to his lover with a question on his tongue. Upon seeing his expression, however, he kept his mouth shut.

"Anyways! I'll clean up here, and Gil here will show you around. Won't you, dear?" Matthew looked at Gilbert expectantly, and the albino immediately nodded.

"Of course. C'mon guys, you heard him. Let's go." Gilbert ordered, standing up and walking towards where the rest of the house lay. Everyone else slowly stood up as well, and followed their leader.

Arthur lagged a little, to speak with Matthew. When he looked around for the blonde, to his surprise, he had disappeared and the kitchen as well as the dining room were spotless.

_On second thought, _Arthur thought, hurrying to catch up to his companions, _I'm not that surprised at all._

* * *

Who writes trash? Me!

Who gives you a late update with nothing but dialogue and slight character development? Me!

Alright! Let's hear it for me! Woohoo!

...Anyways, here you go. I hope you enjoyed this useless chapter. Please, tell me what you think by reviewing! Tune in next week for the next chapter of Safe Haven.

Oh, and a very warm 'thank you' to everyone who's given this story love so far. It...wow. I just can't describe how happy you all make me. Keep that in mind, will you?

Sincerely,

The Forgotten Traveller~


	5. Chapter 5

_Arthur lagged a little, to speak with Matthew. When he looked around for the blonde, to his surprise, he had disappeared and the kitchen as well as the dining room were spotless._

On second thought_, Arthur thought, hurrying to catch up to his companions, _I'm not that surprised at all.

* * *

Kiku decided he very much liked Matthew's house. The size might have been a little daunting, but he enjoyed the quiet and serenity of it all.

He had just been released from Gilbert's tour of the house, and Kiku was free to do as he pleased. So, after thanking his leader- and Matthew -he set off to one of the places he found most interesting: the gardens.

Arthur had gone with Romano to do some..._business. _Kiku did not particularly want to know what that so-called business was. Peter went with Gilbert for something they had not shared with the rest of the group, and Matthew had presumably gone with them.

So, Kiku was left alone to further discover the outside scenery of Matthew's home. He wasn't upset, as he mostly preferred to be by himself.

The raven-haired man walked through the large front doors and into the outside world, blinking suddenly at the harsh sunlight that greeted him. When his vision cleared, he noticed for what was really the first time how very pretty the land around Matthew's house was.

A giant garden was planted around the front and supposedly the back of the house with mainly flowers, but Kiku spotted the occasional bush or tree.

Beyond the garden was a dense forest, from which the group had arrived the previous day. Kiku nodded, taking everything in before slowly strolling around to the back of the house. He sat down on a conveniently placed bench and observed the garden.

Kiku felt himself calming down by the tranquil aura outside. He drew his gaze from flowers, to small groups of butterflies and hummingbirds gathered around various spots, and finally to a large tree nestled in the very far corner of the garden. He peered closer, having never seen that particular tree before, and noticed there were pink leaves- or blossoms -on it. _Could it be…? _He wondered hopefully, moving to stand up and walk to the tree.

"Yes," a soft voice piped up, "it is a cherry tree. I do hope you like it."

Kiku started and turned around quickly. He saw Matthew leaning against the back of the house, looking in the general direction of Kiku and the tree.

"Oh, _kon'nichiwa_, Matthew-san. I didn't see you there!" Kiku exclaimed, putting on a small, polite smile before he realized Matthew couldn't see it. The smile stayed, however.

Matthew laughed. "It's alright, Kiku. It happens a lot, you know." He smiled, before slowly walking towards Kiku with a slightly uncertain look on his face.

Kiku frowned softly, his head tilted to the side. "Ah, is there something wrong? Might I be able to help?" He asked, genuinely concerned. If Matthew was hurt, or upset, Gilbert would not be happy and thus, no one would be happy.

Again, the blonde laughed. "Oh no; I'm quite fine. I just have a little trouble getting around sometimes." He explained, looking sheepish as he sat down where Kiku previously was. "You can sit as well, if you want. I remember there is a wonderful view from this particular spot." He patted the bench, and Kiku reluctantly did as suggested.

"I apologize for being so ignorant," Kiku said with a dip of his head. "It's just, I seem to forget on occasion that you...indeed, cannot see. You seem very aware of your surroundings. May I ask how you do that?"

Matthew didn't answer, but turned his head towards the garden. Silence reigned over the two for a minute, not uncomfortably, before Matthew spoke up.

"...I am blind, you're right. However, I can sense your aura. Not just yours," He added hastily, an embarrassed look crossing his face, "but everybody's. I can, in a way, see where you are and your general...shape? Yes. Something like that. Your aura is lighter or darker depending on how much magic you have either been exposed to or possess. For example, Romano's aura is much lighter than, say, Arthur's- or yours, for that matter. All of yours are surprisingly equal, might I add. Though I suppose it's to be expected, as you all spend much time with each other, no?" Matthew smiled and continued, "On the same note concerning yourself, I have not seen someone...like you...for quite some time. Can I ask how you've survived this long?"

Kiku shifted, cheeks darkening slightly. "A-ah, well...I suppose I've just been lucky. Finding Gilbert has helped tremendously, as well. He's been very kind to me." He replied, and decided not to ask how Matthew could possibly have known what Kiku was.

"Oh? Good. As he should be. After all, Tengu such as yourself are becoming exceedingly rare. My condolences for that, by the way. If there was something I could do, trust me- I would do it."

"_Arigato_."

"...Has Arthur, perchance, cast a spell on you that disguises your characteristics?" Matthew asked, intrigued. "I can tell you have- at the very least - dimmed your magic somewhat, as your aura is a lot lighter than it was- or as it should be."

"That is correct, Matthew-san. I had asked him give me something so I could mingle with the humans, and he complied with a spell. It's merely an illusion, however, and I've noticed highly skilled sorcerers and sometimes children can see through my disguise without much problem. Though I am shocked you know so much about me, and my kind. Where does your information come from?" Kiku wondered out loud.

The blonde's smile grew slightly larger as he answered mysteriously, "I have my sources. May I just say, I've known your kind for many years."

Kiku stared at Matthew, rather in awe of the blind man sitting next to him. "Pardon my brashness, but you seem to be a very admirable person. I hope to familiarize myself with you in the future." Kiku admitted.

Matthew chuckled good heartedly. "That's very kind of you. I'd like to know you better as well." A shadow came across his faces then, and the mood became a little darker, "...Though, I _do _wish you all could stay. It's very rare for me to receive visitors, you see. This lonely house is much too big for me."

"...I think it's quite beautiful."

"Do you? Splendid, then. I had figured you would enjoy the gardens out here. You seem the type."

"Ah."

There was silence once more, and Kiku thought he could hear Peter and Gilbert laughing faintly in the distance. _Or, _as he tilted his head to try and hear better, _perhaps not…_

"Has Gilbert ever told you," Matthew started with a humorous tone in his quiet voice, "that he helped me plant this whole place?"

Kiku didn't have the heart to tell the blonde that Gilbert had never even mentioned Matthew before the day before, so he simply answered: "No...he doesn't seem like he would really enjoy that kind of thing."

Matthew grinned and continued, "Oh no, he loved it! I remember, he woke me up at dawn one morning and dragged me out back here just so he could get to working with me. It was...very cute, to say the least."

The Tengu thought about this for a moment, and laughed softly. "That does sound cute. I wish I could've seen it."

He realized he might be opening up to this Matthew, but the two had just met the previous day. Kiku pondered about it, and a small voice in the back of his mind declared, _But you already know him, don't you?_

It was highly improbable, but Kiku supposed there might be a slim chance they had seen each other before. His memories were typically pretty clear, but as time went on, he started to forget the oldest things, making room for new information.

_Perhaps Matthew was one of them?_

Matthew left shortly afterwards, saying that he was going back inside to prepare for the next meal. Kiku had offered to go with him and help, but the blonde simply laughed and said,

"It's not a problem at all! I enjoy cooking, and it's only polite for me do so, no? I'll send Gil out to get you in a while, if that's alright with you."

So Kiku was alone once more, to think in silence.

_Is Matthew really from my past? _The raven-haired man thought, frowning vaguely as he stared into the forest. _He seems quite normal, besides the blindness and the 'incident' yesterday. I think he could be forgotten quite easily, if one didn't know him beforehand. And on that note, why hasn't Gilbert...why has he not said a thing about Matthew-san? I understand and respect his privacy, but to not mention his lover at all, even after all this time…_

_...It must be hard to be alone so much._

* * *

Gilbert had indeed come out to receive Kiku only a short while later. By the time the albino had arrived, the sun was already high up in the sky and it was getting warm out.

Kiku followed Gilbert back into the house, and was met with an array of voices speaking loudly and cheerfully. He was led to the dining room again.

Peter turned around and grinned at the two, saying, "'Bout time you got here! We were about to eat without you, y'know." He laughed.

Matthew gasped, and looked towards Peter. "_Peter! _That's rude! No we weren't."

"But you said-"

"I don't care what I said, we're not eating without them." Matthew interrupted, scolding the young boy. "C'mon, you two. I've just finished with the food." He said to the newcomers and walked into the kitchen.

Gilbert sat down to the left of where Matthew previously was, and Kiku sat himself across from that, next to Romano. He saw the Italian had his fingers on one hand entwined with Arthur's, and that the duo both looked exceptionally happy.

Before a new conversation could start up, however, Matthew came back into the dining room, carrying two trays filled with food.

"Your food is served!" He exclaimed dramatically with a smile.

Kiku started to ask if Matthew needed help, but any words he might've said were lost when more plates came through the kitchen. Except, Matthew wasn't carrying them. No one was.

_So...Matthew is a...sorcerer as well…? _He wondered, eyes wide as he watched the platters set themselves down on the table. Gilbert and Peter began to eat at once, apparently used to the situation. Arthur hesitated for a moment, but he too took some food and handed it to Romano- who looked at startled as Kiku felt- before getting some for himself.

The Tengu stared at Matthew as the host finally sat down. Matthew must have felt Kiku's gaze, because he smiled and laughed a little.

"Sorry if I scared you, Kiku. Oh, and Romano as well. I forgot to mention I can do that kind of stuff. But go ahead, eat up." He winked teasingly, "I promise it's not poisoned."

Gilbert paused at this for a second, looking down at his plate suspiciously, then shrugged and kept eating.

Kiku nodded slowly, and gradually got his own lunch. He was again surprised at how good it was, with Matthew being unable to see what he was making. _Then again, he seems to be remarkably capable for a blind person. Perhaps he has some method of focusing on his tasks or something. I should ask him sometime._

* * *

In only a half-hour, everyone was done with their meal, and had started telling embarrassing stories about each other, much to Kiku's chagrin. There were a lot about him, unfortunately, and his companions did nothing to spare him.

"Hey, remember that one time when-" They would start, and it would always end with Kiku doing something strange- "and then he picked up the crumbs after everyone left, and ate them when we got back! He said- oh what was it- that he couldn't let the bread go to waste! Then Peter said, 'It's for the birds, Kiku!' and Kiku said, 'I know. That's why I'm eating them!'"- or some other story they had probably fabricated for Matthew's- and their own- entertainment.

Kiku sighed, and watched as Peter recalled another time when Kiku had accidentally fallen asleep in the middle of a mission- "We all thought he was dead for sure! Arthur even started looking for a revival spell, and then he woke up and practically gave us all a heart attack!"- with reluctant amusement.

He may have the most embarrassing friends, but to be honest?

He wouldn't trade them for the world.

* * *

WAAAAHHHH! Oh my Stars and Stripes, Batman! I'm really sorry about the lateness of this update, and I have tried to appease you with the next chapter as soon as possible. (Please forgive me, I am but a lowly fangirl!)

But yeah, I can't say I have much of an excuse. The week since I've updated and now has been pretty sucky, and I had a little writer's block. Do any of you have a way that you can focus on your writing without getting distracted? I'd love to hear it…

Now you know what Kiku is! A Tengu is a Japanese mythical creature who has some humanoid characteristics, but is also part animal. (I'd just look it up if I were you.) Arthur did some spell so he looks basically normal, so you'll have to wait to find out what animal he is! (Oh, and I've already pretty much told you what Gilbert and Peter are, so you should look back on the chapters all sneaky-sneaky like until you find it.

Thank you with all my heart for staying with this. I've gotten a ton of followers and favoriters (not a word, you say? Too bad) and this is only the fifth chapter. I can't wait to see what's in store for us all, so stay tuned for chapter six of Safe Haven!

Sincerely,

The Forgotten Traveller~

(PS, is there anything you guys would like to see happen? I'm thinking there will be some more interaction like this before the actual stuff happens, so go ahead and review or PM me! Oh! And if you find any mistakes, please point them out~)


	6. Chapter 6

_He may have the most embarrassing friends, but to be honest?_

_He wouldn't trade them for the world._

* * *

Gilbert was decidedly panicking when Arthur told him that when they- meaning Romano, Arthur and Matthew- were right in the middle of a conversation about something or other, Matthew went silent, stood up, and walked straight out the door.

Currently, he was pacing the floor of the living room with his companions watching from various sitting places.

"This...this is not okay, this is not okay," he muttered, worrying his lower lip.

Arthur leaned forward to ask Gilbert what was wrong, but he didn't get past a short "Gilbert" before the other man cut him off.

"_This..._is absolutely _not __**okay**_!" The silver-haired leader shouted, now pulling at his hair with eyes widened. "No, no, no...no! No! He _wouldn't_! He promised…"

Peter stood up as well, and hesitantly walked up to Gilbert's side. "Gil…" he said soothingly, surprising everyone else there. "We'll look for him. I know he promised you, but we both know Matt doesn't always keep his promises- whether he means to or not."

Gilbert glanced at the small blonde and gave a sad little smile, then looked down at his hand, the sunlight catching the silver glint from his fourth finger. "Yeah. Let's go get him."

* * *

The search for Matthew ended up being just Gilbert and Peter, which was fine with the both of them. Everyone else might have slowed them down this close to night, and the duo were admittedly the best at navigating the dark, as well as what is in it.

Peter stretched languidly, and he quickly gazed around him. Seeing no one but Gilbert- who was only slightly paying attention -he muttered a short incantation under his breath.

Two rather large dragonfly wings- for a dragonfly, that is -slowly folded out from the blonde's back through thin slits in his shirt. He smiled, and sighed happily, followed by a short laugh.

Gilbert looked over with a curious look on his face. When seeing it was just Peter being Peter, he rolled his eyes good-naturedly and went back to searching for Matthew.

"Peter," he called over his shoulder.

Peter looked at Gilbert, a relaxed expression on his face. "Hm?"

"What are you doing with your wings, weirdo?"

"...it relaxes me, you know that. Plus, maybe it'll help us find Matt."

The silverette paused for a moment, before grinning and shaking his head. "Hate to break it to ya, kid, but those little bug wings aren't going to help this time." He teased.

Peter scoffed, and crossed his arms. "Psh, yeah right! I can- uh, I can fly really high! Obviously!" He argued, pouting just a little bit.

"Kid…"

"...Okay, kinda high up then…?"

"Peter."

"Oh, shut up! Not everyone has super awesome wings, you jerk." Peter muttered, looking at the ground.

Gilbert frowned then, and walked over to Peter. He put an arm over the younger's shoulders, and leaned towards him. "Sorry, sorry. I..._ja_. I didn't mean to be...so harsh. It's just- Matt's gone, and you and I are the only ones who even really know him, and what if he _doesn't come back_-"

Peter cut off his friend's panicked ramblings the most effective way he knew.

He slapped Gilbert straight across the face.

"Gil. Get yourself together. How are you supposed to be our 'valiant and courageous leader'", he used hand motions to emphasize his point, "if you're freaking out like this?!"

Gilbert gave Peter an exasperated look, and threw his hands into the air. "Do you even _know_ how hard it is to act like you have everything in control when, in reality," he paused for a breath, "you have _no fucking clue what to do?!"_

Peter drew back, startled. Gilbert rarely acted like this, even in front of him, so Peter assumed there was something much bigger at hand than Matthew up and leaving.

The blonde's wings fluttered nervously. He prided himself in being able to handle a lot of different things, but Gilbert like this? Yeah, that wasn't one of them. Normally in this kind of situation, someone else would be nearby that could calm his friend down, but there wasn't enough time to go back and get anyone else.

There wasn't enough...time…

...not enough time...wait…

"_Gilbert!_" He exclaimed loudly with a sudden panicked expression, causing Gilbert to flinch and look at Peter, "We need to go, now! Right now!" He grabbed the older's arm, and started to drag him back towards the direction they came from.

Gilbert, now confused and slightly afraid, still recovering from his little breakdown, yanked his arm away. "What the hell, Peter? No, we can't go back yet! We have to look for Matt!"

"We will, once it's morning." Peter replied, turning to face the other, arms crossed now. "But now, it's night, and guess who's alone and unprotected at his house?!"

"...Fuck."

* * *

"Okay, listen up," Gilbert commanded, pacing back and forth in front of his companions with Peter next to him. (The blonde had refolded his wings, as to not startle his friends.) "I need to keep you all safe. I know, normally, you guys are perfectly capable, but not this time!" He stopped and pointed upstairs. "You are to stay in the same room you were in before, and keep it locked at all times. All times. No matter what, don't open it. Okay?"

Kiku cocked his head. "Just like last night, then?" He asked.

Gilbert shook his head. "No, not quite. There's a big chance you won't be sleeping tonight. Matt's not here, and there are some...unsavory...things that live here at night. You don't ever want to mess with them, unless you're Matthew, or to an extent, me or Peter."

"What kinds of things? Can we protect ourselves from them?" Arthur questioned, already planning a defense in his mind.

"No. Not this time. Just...oh, forget it. I'll stay up there with you all. If I don't, someone's going to end up dead and- well, that's never good. Let's go."

With that, he started up the stairs, everyone else gradually trailing behind. Peter caught up with the leader, and whispered, "What's your plan? We can't just lock ourselves up for the night, can we?"

Gilbert frowned a little. "We're going to. Peter, I know we usually just fight it out, but you and I both know that's not going to work this time. Not with three more people who don't even know what they're up against."

"Yeah, what's so scary that we have to basically avoid it at all costs?" Romano interjected, moving to walk in between the two.

"Nothing you need to worry about." Gilbert muttered and picked up his pace.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Wuss," he mumbled, and turned to the Italian. "It's kind of a long story, so I'll just tell you in the room."

Romano nodded, and Gilbert, up ahead, opened the room's door.

"C'mon, c'mon. Get in." Gilbert ushered them in, glancing up and down the hallway almost frantically.

Peter went in first, followed by Romano, Arthur, Kiku, and finally Gilbert, who took one last look down the hall before closing the door and locking it. He muttered something, and the lock illuminated briefly before returning to normal.

Romano looked at Peter. "So? What's the big deal, then?"

The blonde half-smiled, and started talking. "Well, Matthew's...he's special. Different than you or me, you know that. And, since he's special, other things can sense it. These things aren't...what we would call 'good', and are shunned for that. But they know that Matthew is, well, kinda shunned like them, but way more powerful than those idiots who don't like them. So, they make their way here, from all around the world, to stay here and be protected, sort of."

Arthur hummed, eyebrows furrowed. "If that's so, then why haven't seen any today? Or last night, for that matter?" He asked.

Gilbert interrupted then with: "Would you want to be confronted by a bunch of strangers who could kill you in the only place you find safe?"

There was silence while everyone imagined that. It wasn't so pleasant, and Romano felt he understood now.

"Okay," he said, "but shouldn't it be safe for us if whatever's here is scared of us?"

"Not without Matt here, we aren't. They're not afraid of us, but of what Matt might do if they hurt us. But, he's gone right now, and well? I think you get the rest."

After about an hour of waiting around for Matthew or the sunrise- whichever came first - the travellers heard a noise from outside their room. All activity stopped, and all faces turned to the door.

"Wh-...what was that?" Arthur asked shakily, "Gilbert?"

Gilbert had already motioned Peter over and the two reinforced the spell on the locked door. "That, Arthur, was something you don't want to mess with."

Arthur frowned, and walked over to the door. He stared at it, and chanted a spell. He closed his eyes, and when he opens them, he was now seeing what's outside the door.

It's very dark, as there are not many lights in Matthew's house and certainly none of them are lit.

It's empty, or so he sees nothing moving, but he sees auras of things, and there are _so many!_

He looked down the hallway, towards Matthew's room, and down the other way, towards the stairway. Nothing…

Right as he opened his mouth to tell Gilbert that there wasn't anything there beside magical somethings-or-other, something caught the edge of his vision. He turned his head to look at it, and promptly shrieked in surprise.

There, right in front of the door, right in front of his eyes, was another pair of eyes looking straight at him. He hadn't even noticed their arrival, and that scared him the most.

The eyes were, without a doubt, attached to a head which was attached to a body, but all he could see were those eyes.

They were glowing faintly, for some reason Arthur didn't know, and the irises were a deep red- like blood. Arthur had never had anyone stare directly at him, into what felt like his soul, but he decided it wasn't really for him.

His own eyes rolled back, and the concerned face of Romano was the last thing his mind registered before it all went dark.

* * *

Romano inhaled abruptly when Arthur passed out, and was at his side in an instant, pushing past Gilbert and Peter.

"Arthur?!" He demanded, hovering over the fallen blonde's body. "Art, wake up! _Svegliati!_"

He felt his eyes stinging, even though there was in fact a pulse and all of his instincts told him Arthur was just unconscious. The brunet glared up at Gilbert, who had a shocked expression in his face.

"_What did this house do to him._" It wasn't a question.

His leader shrugged as if it pained him, and he knelt down beside Romano. Gilbert checked his pulse, and upon finding one, gave a short relieved sigh and opened Arthur's eyelids.

The blonde's eyes were still rolled back, and nothing seemed out of place to Romano. But Gilbert must have seen something, because he paled and looked towards the door with fear in his eyes.

"No…" He murmured, and glanced to Peter. The two had what appeared to be a silent conversation. Romano huffed, he felt his anger levels rising.

"Stop with the damned telepathy or whatever, you fucking idiots, and tell me what the hell happened!" He shouted, prepared to stand and most likely strangle someone.

Before anyone could say another thing, a blood curdling laugh came from outside.

Everyone turned to it, silent. It sounded again, and Romano felt chills run down his spine. That didn't sound like any normal person's laughter, but more like the laughter of someone who was about to cry or kill someone. Possibly both. Romano had heard that kind of laugh before, but not with this...intensity.

It had actually scared him.

Gilbert took a step towards the door, but there was no need, as despite the enchantments on the lock, it unlocked and the door started to slowly creak open.

A sense of helpless doom came over Romano. So this was how he died? So be it.

* * *

Translations:

ja- yes

Svegliati- wake up (hey, reader who speaks Italian and whose name I have forgotten, is this right?)

Woop woop! I'mmmmm baaaaack! How's it going? Did you have a good weekend? Any summer plans yet?

Anyways, here's the chapter. Spooky, right? Who do you think's outside the door? If you have a guess, don't hesitate to leave a review if you want to tell me. If not, that's cool too!

Now you see Peter! He's, well, he's kinda like a fairy. Not one of those Disney ones, but (obviously) human-sized and a fighter. Only Gil and Matt to go...

Before I leave (until next Tuesday, of course) I'd like to recommend a story to you! Yes, you! I've seen a couple of authors do this, and I think it's pretty cool. But I digress.

It's called **Losing My Flame** by the forever awesome Italian Skunk. It's a different take on the everyday nation AU, and it's more centered around Romano and his journey to- well, you'll have to read to find out. It has Spamano and GerIta, but it's not the focus of the story, so even if you don't like either of those pairings, I highly suggest you check it out. The author's a friend of mine, and a very nice one at that, so don't be afraid to leave a review on her story, too! (She's worth it!)

Well, I think that's it. I'll- oh, wait! Do you have any recommendations for me? I love reading new stories! Anyways, it's nice to finally be back. I missed this. See you on Tuesday!

With Love,

The Forgotten Traveller~  
(PS, see any mistakes? Plot holes? Tell me, and we'll make this story easier for others to read!)


	7. Chapter 7

_Gilbert took a step towards the door, but there was no need, as despite the enchantments on the lock, it unlocked and the door started to slowly creak open._

_A sense of helpless doom came over Romano. So this was how he died._

* * *

Shadows came pouring into the room from the opening door. The air became heavier, and Romano's chest constricted. He swiftly stood up and rushed to the door, throwing himself on it in order to try and keep it closed.

Kiku seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and hurried to help the Italian, before giving a pleading look to Gilbert and Peter.

Gilbert simply stood there, a helpless expression on his face. Almost like he knew what was going to happen, and there was nothing he could really do to stop it. He sighed quietly, and shook his head once. _No._

Peter looked frantically between the now-partially-closed door and his friend. What to do...what to do?! He knew what Gilbert was trying to convey, but on the other hand...if they kept the door closed…

He ran to the door and put his hands next to his friends, a dim glow spreading from his hands into the door. It shut a fraction more, and Peter's hopes rose.

The three shoved with all their might and magic, with Gilbert watching, paralyzed with fear, from behind them. Romano had broken into a light sweat, and the shadows were still trickling out from behind the door. He didn't even know what was behind the piece of wood separating them from whatever evil was trying to get them.

But he didn't care. Whatever it was, he would have to protect those he trusted most from it. Because after all…

What else was family for?

* * *

Gilbert knew there were a lot of things he should be doing.

He knew he should go and help them. Help them in their futile attempt to close that stupid door even though it wasn't going to help.

He knew he should call for Matthew, or someone, to help them. But Matthew wasn't there, so…

He knew that standing where he was, stock still, was the worst option he could take. Yet, he did it anyways.

He even thought he knew what was trying to get to them. But...it was possible, but he thought it was getting better. Not like last time...he could only hope.

Romano took a second to glare at Gilbert, fury in his eyes. He said nothing, and turned back to the door.

However, that breach in strength was all whatever it was out there to take over.

The door flew open, and he along with Kiku and Peter fell back onto the floor. The room became noticeably darker, to the point that distinguishable features were impossible to see unaided. There stood a humanoid body with luminescent blood red eyes, an insane grin, and unmistakable figure.

Romano, in his shock, was able to utter one word. "...M-Matthew?"

Gilbert's heart faltered, then dropped to the pit of his stomach. This was never supposed to happen. They were supposed to talk and laugh and smile and _live_ with Matthew, not this, _not this!_

He took a shaky step forward and held out his hand. _Stop this...stop this..._His mind screamed at him, and he hoped for a second that he really could stop anything from happening this time.

Matthew stared at him, grin suddenly gone. He cocked his head, and Gilbert saw a trace of confusion run across his face. The blonde's eyes followed his every move closely, not unlike a hunter examining his prey.

Gilbert stepped towards him again, hand still in front of him. "Little bird…" He said quietly, as not to startle him and face the consequences.

Another step, and Matthew tensed. _Okay...so far so good..._Gilbert smiled softly, "Hey there, birdie…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arthur stir. He hoped the blonde had enough sense to stay silent like the other three.

Turning back to his lover, he saw Matthew's eyes were flickering from red to purple. He couldn't believe it. _It's working, it's-_

"Gil?" Matthew mumbled dazedly, voice soft. He looked around the room slowly, seeing auras of his guests on the floor and unmoving. His violet eyes widened and he gasped. "Ah! Are they...are they alright?" He asked, distressed. His hands flew over his mouth as he continued without waiting for Gilbert. "No no no, I didn't- I didn't-"

Gilbert rushed forward and caught Matthew in his arms before the blonde could move. "They're fine. Shh...it's okay," He said, petting Matthew's hair in a manner he hoped was comforting.

Matthew still looked hesitant, but Peter spoke up then. "Matt, we're all fine. Terrified, but fine." He reassured.

The blonde wailed, "What did I_ do?_"

Gilbert gave Peter a glare, daring him to say something else. He did.

"Well," he said, moving to stand up, "_you_ didn't do anything…"

Matthew inhaled sharply. "No…he- he couldn't have-" He faltered and fell silent. "I'm so sorry...I didn't...I'm sorry, I'm sorry-!"

"Matt!" Gilbert reprimanded, forcing the blonde to look into his eyes. "He just gave us a fright, that's all. You're fine, we're fine,_ it's okay._"

But the host wouldn't hear it, and cast one final desperate gaze over those in the room before ripping himself from Gilbert's hold and stumbling out of the room.

Everyone was silent for a long minute. Cries outside could be faintly heard, but whether they were Matthew's or not, they didn't know.

Arthur, now recovered, was the first to break the silence.

"What...just happened?" He asked warily, looking at the door. "Gilbert, explain."

The silverette sighed and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "That was a prime example of why Matt shouldn't get angry, that's what it was."

"Not what I meant, idiot. There was clearly only one person standing there, and that was Matthew. So who were you two talking about? And why was he about to attack us?" Arthur demanded before muttering, "I knew it wasn't safe here."

Gilbert must have either not heard him, or ignored his statement, because he continued with his explanation.

"Matt has...how do I say this? It's not just him in his mind. Like, there's Matt- Matthew, if you like, and he's the one who greeted us. But there's also...well, there's also the, ah, other Matthew. That's the one with red eyes- the one who tried to attack us. And no, I don't know why. But if you dare bring this up to Matt, you're gonna regret it. Hear me, Arthur?" Gilbert threatened, pointing at the blonde.

Arthur leaned back slightly from his position on the floor, a little intimidated. He had no idea there was another personality in Matthew's head...that was the last thing he would've guessed, honestly. Arthur could tell Gilbert had left a couple of things out, but for once he wasn't going to push it. This seemed like it could be an emotional subject for Gilbert, and Arthur wasn't in the mood to mess with his friend.

"Yeah," he said, meeting Gilbert's eyes, "I understand."

Meanwhile, Romano had gotten up and sat on the other bed. He searched his body for any injuries, and finding nothing but a couple of spots that would be bruised in the morning, he was fine. He checked Peter next, then Kiku.

"We're all okay, if you cared." Romano stated, and Arthur rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He stood up and sat on the bed next to his lover.

Arthur sighed, and ran his hand through Romano's hair before placing a kiss on the Italian's forehead. "I'm sorry, love. I know I should have paid attention to you instead of demanding to know what happened. Can you forgive me?"

Romano sat aloof with his head raised, but anyone could tell he was pleased with Arthur's reaction. "Hm. I guess." Romano replied, smiling slightly.

The blonde grinned. "I love you, Romano."

"I love you, too."

Gilbert groaned loudly, previous worries gone, and dramatically put a hand over his heart. "God, you two are so unawesome. And gross. Bleh." He complained and Peter nodded vigorously.

Arthur sneered at Gilbert, but his smile was still present to show he was joking. "Whatever, you fairy." He teased.

Gilbert looked positively affronted, and Peter just burst into laughter.

"I am not a _fairy!_" He insisted. "If anyone's a fairy, it's Peter!"

Peter shook his head, still laughing.

Arthur smirked, thinking he won this battle, and turned back to Romano. "He's totally a fairy," he stage whispered to the brunet, who snorted and nodded.

Gilbert pouted, and crossed his arms, acting as the mature leader they all knew. "You guys suck," he decided and added as an afterthought, "and I'm going to sleep. Again, don't leave, and I'll see you in the morning. Understood?"

Everyone nodded in unison, and Gilbert smirked in satisfaction. "Good." He stood up and walked to the doorway. Sticking only his head out, he called out Matthew's name. The blonde seemed to materialize next to him in a second, and he escorted Gilbert down to the end of the hall where Matthew's bedroom- supposedly -was.

As those left in the bedroom crawled into their respective beds, Kiku commented, "Well, that was the most exciting night I've had in a long time. I wonder what will happen next."

No one disagreed, and sleep came onto them swiftly.

* * *

OH GOD IT'S DONE-

Well...uh, here you go. I'm sorry for the long wait. I've had a lot of troubles getting this chapter up, but I persevered and give you this! I know it's not much, but it's important to the plot. So, yeah.

Ha, were you expecting it to be Matthew? If you were, wow. Good job! If not, good job too! Thank you very much for telling me you're guesses. It means a lot that you'd interact with me ^^

I'm dedicating this chapter to my wonderfully awesome friend, JessicaStarCrossed. Without her, this would have been a much longer wait. She really helped me out in deciding what to do! Thank you!

Also, I'm going to keep my updating schedule to once a week, and I'll try to keep to it. The chapters might be early, or a few days late, but I'm not ever giving up on _Safe Haven._ I'm going to finish this if it kills me!

My story recommendation for this chapter is _Lovely_, by paerre. It's, in my opinion, one of the best ongoing Spamano fics out there, if not one of the greatest overall. _Lovely_ doesn't depict Antonio and Lovino's relationship are perfect- far from it, in fact. It's very realistic, and I hope there are more stories like it in the future. Plus, the author has a very excellent theory about how the nations work and feel, so I suggest you check it out. It's unlike any Spamano you'll ever read.

Any errors? Feel free to tell me! Plot holes? Point 'em out! Thanks in advance!

Well, that's it. Sorry for giving you such a big author's note every time- I just can't help it! Oh! And I'm working on a gift-fic for a friend of mine, so I'll try to get that up in the next week or so.

See You Soon,

The Forgotten Traveller~


	8. Chapter 8

_As those left in the bedroom crawled into their respective beds, Kiku commented, "Well, that was the most exciting night I've had in a long time. I wonder what will happen next."_

_No one disagreed, and sleep came onto them swiftly._

* * *

There they were...the two of them. Both in one house, going about their lives like anyone else.

The man was sitting outside, on his porch, with a mug of something- coffee, maybe -and looking out at the streetlife.

He took aim.

The woman was inside, just waking up. She would soon trot down to the kitchen to make herself some food, only to see her husband had done that already.

She would call him in with a teasing smile, and ask, "_Who did this?_" in her still-there Greek accent, and he would laugh, and reply, "_Someone who loves you!_" in his Mediterranean-laced voice.

He knew this, because they did this everyday. (He knew that, because he's been watching them for the last two months. It was the same thing day in and day out.)

All he had to do was wait…

...just a minute now…

The husband heard his wife's voice, and smiled. He stood up and, mug forgotten for now, stepped inside.

...move to the left...yes, right there…

The wife's hands were on her hips, and the smile was on her face. "_Who did this?_" She asked, gesturing to the prepared breakfast.

The husband hugged her, and replied, "_Someone who loves you!_"

He fired. Two shots, for two people. It was a fantastic position- the husband had put his head on his wife's shoulder, the last thing he'll ever do, and there was a perfect window for those two shots, right next to each other.

They never saw it coming. Two shots, for two people.

The husband dropped first, leaving the wife with a terrified expression as her mouth opened to scream, or cry, and she fell a second later.

Just two shots. Too easy, almost.

He smirked, and put the sniper rifle down. It would have cost him an arm and a leg- literally -to buy one of those, if he hadn't gotten it as a gift from someone whose face he could not remember.

The weapon was put back into its inconspicuous case, and he nodded to the apartment's tenant, who was bound and gagged to a chair- oh yes, and also dead.

He took his time going down the flights of stairs. Those two weren't going anywhere.

'_Another day, another case,_' he thought to himself, then chuckled. He would write that one down when he got home.

In another minute, he had reached the house. He was only there to check for valuables, like his Boss taught him to.

He muttered an old prayer before entering. That was another thing he had learned- respect the dead, no matter what.

The walls...they were a nice cream color, he noted. It made him feel a little nostalgic for his home.

Normal furniture...nothing of value, really...then the two bodies in the kitchen, of course. He walked a little closer, and nudged the wife, then the husband.

Both good and dead. Two shots, for two people.

He moved on. Down the hall, he went.

There were four...five...different doors. One, he figured, was the husband and wife's bedroom. Then, perhaps a bathroom, and a guest room. Maybe an office, too.

The last door was at the end of the hallway, staring back at him instead of the others on the sides. There were a lot of pictures tacked onto it. Out of curiosity, he stepped forward to examine them.

Some were just of the wife and husband, but only a few. Most included two boys, almost identical. He moved onto the others.

As the original two became older, another boy joined them. This one looked more like one than the other.

A fourth showed up, as a tiny baby. It might've been a girl, or a boy. Something told him it was a boy.

However, all those thoughts escaped him when he got to the top of the door, and the most recent pictures.

One in particular stood out to him. It was one of the first two boys, now young adults. The man's face was scowling, but the scary part was that it was the mirror image of his own.

His hands fell to his sides, and he took a closer look at the pictures with that had that boy in it.

His expression varied with each picture, but he almost always looked somewhat angry.

The other boy might be with him, or the other two. Names came to him from somewhere in his head.

_Feliziano...or...Feliciano?...and...Romeo...and, and- Heracles…_

A jolt of terror ran down his spine. If these are all pictures of..._them_...then…

..._who did he kill?_

Was it the one who looked just like him? (_Airhead_,his mind supplied, _but love, love love_)

The little child? (_Cheeky, love, love, love_)

Or the other one, looking his age? (_Quiet, love, or hate, or love_)

Had they all grown up, without him, and lived their own lives, without him?

He turned and ran as fast as he could to the kitchen, and turned over the man's body. Same skin, same hair that filled the memories flooding his head...His friends? (_His brother?_)

The woman was turned over next. Her eyes were glassy, but were familiar.

Two shots, for two people.

One thought ran through his head as he realized what he did. He held both of their (_cold, dead, DEAD) _hands in his own, and cried for the first time, and simply wondered:

_Why?_

* * *

Romano woke up screaming, not for the first time, and not the last.

Arthur was up in a second, and he looked at his lover and he knew what had happened.

Another blink, and Peter and Kiku were awake. They said nothing, and Arthur looked at them to say it was alright. _Go back to sleep._

He turned back to Romano, who was still shrieking, and he could do nothing but hold the brunet and hope for the spell to pass.

No one could do anything, really. Not when he was like _this_.

* * *

It took another hour for Romano to calm down enough for Arthur to gently ask if there was anything he could do.

Romano, still shaking, jerked his head to the side in a robotic denial. _No and thank you and I love you._

By then, there were weak streams of sunlight filtering in from under the door, and Peter was alone on his bed, asleep.

Arthur sighed. _Another day._

"Romano," he called quietly, "are you okay to go downstairs yet? Or shall we stay up here for a while longer?"

Romano was silent for a long minute, then coughed, and sat up. He inhaled, exhaled, and tilted his head up slightly. "I'll go," he whispered, finally.

The blonde flinched at the coarse voice, but smiled anyways. "Okay. Do you need any help?"

His lover didn't answer, but got up off the bed and walked to the door. He first looked at Peter, who hadn't moved, then Arthur, who was already up and moving toward Romano.

Romano held out his hand, and Arthur took it. The two made their way downstairs slowly.

They found Gilbert, Kiku, and Matthew at one of the dining tables, the three simply talking with each other.

When Matthew caught Arthur's gaze, he flinched and went transparent for a second before starting to flicker in between being visible and not.

Gilbert looked at Matthew strangely, and turned around. Seeing Arthur and Romano, he grinned and gestured to the empty seats around him. "Good morning! Take a seat!" He exclaimed, and saw Romano's appearance.

Dark circles were under the brunet's eyes, his skin was pale, his hair was mussed, and his eyes had a dull look to them.

Gilbert's arms fell, and he nodded. "Rough night." He said understandingly, and then to Matthew, "It's fine, Matt. I think they'll understand you didn't do anything."

Kiku agreed immediately, much to Arthur's surprise. _I thought he was hesitant on the subject of Matthew?_ The blonde thought.

Matthew's voice came out soft, "R-Really?"

"Really. I told them about Mattie, so it'll be alright." Gilbert reassured, putting his hand over where he somehow knew Matthew's was.

"Oh…"

All of the sudden, a yell could be heard from upstairs.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Peter," he called back, "We're down here!"

There was silence then, and everyone could hear feet thumping down the stairs and to the dining room.

Peter came in, and sighed in relief when he saw everyone there. "I thought...I thought you had all left…" he confessed, out of breath.

Matthew smiled and, now visible, held out his arms. Without hesitation, Peter ran into them and sat himself on the blonde's lap.

Arthur stared at the blatant display of affection, a little confused. Just what connection did Peter have with Matthew anyways? He would have to ask his brother later. For now, though, he was hungry.

Gilbert seemed to understand, and spoke up. "Matt, should we make something for breakfast?"

Matthew blinked, and shook his head. His hands went to Peter's hair as he explained. "No, I already did. It's in the kitchen, should I get it-?"

Peter was up and running before Matthew finished his sentence, causing those present to chuckle

Even Romano cracked a tiny smile. Arthur squeezed his hand, assuring him _we'll be alright. Just you see_.

* * *

Here's another one! I'm not feeling too strongly about the not-dream part, so what did you think?

Oh yeah, and the dream. So, Romano didn't have a very nice life before this. I'll leave it up to you as to what happened for now. Do you know who he killed?

Thanks to JessicaStarCrossed, for just being an awesome friend. Seriously, check her out. She's awesome!

Speaking of, her and I are working on reviving _Off Kilter_, and we'd love your help. Even if it's just to say, "Keep up the good work!" Or to help us write it all out. I appreciate it so much!

Well, that's it for now. See ya next week on Safe Haven! (Ooh, that sounded cool…)

Au Revoir,

The Forgotten Traveller~

(PS, happy Bastille Day! I'm pretty sure that's today…)


	9. Chapter 9

_`Peter was up and running before Matthew finished his sentence, causing those present to chuckle._

_Even Romano cracked a tiny smile. Arthur squeezed his hand, assuring him _we'll be alright. Just you see.

* * *

It was Kiku who brought it up.

Everyone had been preoccupied with their meal, and the Tengu was thinking about their future.

He was wondering what they would be doing next, seeing as their last job didn't _exactly_ go too well. Perhaps they could scrounge something up, but first, they would have to retrieve their possessions from that village, and then find whoever had that job and do the ever-so-pleasant job of telling them that they failed, and…

Well, it was a lot to do, and it wasn't like they had all the time in the world or anything. Sooner or later, someone was going to notice their disappearance- they were popular enough.

Kiku looked up from his plate to see the others eating, talking, or doing a mixture of both. They didn't seem to worried, so Kiku decided he would say something. He turned to Peter, who was closest to him and currently eating.

"Peter?" He asked quietly, as to not disturb anyone else. The blonde hummed in answer. "What are we going to do?"

Peter chewed thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing. "Well, hm. I hadn't really thought about it. I guess we'll have to leave soon, huh? Hey, Gil!" He called out, getting Gilbert's attention immediately from his conversation with Romano.

"Yeah?"

"What's up next?"

The silverette paused. "Huh, I dunno. I guess…" he glanced at Matthew quickly then looked back at Peter, "we might have to be moving soon…"

Matthew sighed, but nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry to have kept you for so long. You can leave whenever you like." He said softly.

Gilbert winced sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Matt. But someone has to notice eventually, and I know we've only been here a couple of days, but still."

Matthew waved his hand in dismissal and replied, "It's fine. I understand. Besides, you all are very important and it would be impolite to make to stay, especially away from your jobs." He stood up suddenly, causing Kiku to jump a little in surprise. "Anyways, are we all finished? Yes? Very well."

He started to walk away, towards the kitchen, and their plates rose into the air and followed him. Arthur cursed under his breath and went after him.

Peter blinked, then sighed. "He's upset, isn't he."

Gilbert nodded. "Well," he stood up as well, "I guess we should prepare to get going….Kiku? Romano? I want you two to figure out how to get our stuff back. Peter and I will go get extra food and such."

With that, he and Peter left, leaving Romano and Kiku sitting together at the table otherwise alone.

"You heard him," Romano started, "let's get to it. I think we should retrieve them at midday, so we can easily blend in with the people and slip away unnoticed."

Kiku shook his head. "I disagree. We left at noon last time, and that didn't work very well. I suggest we arrive at night, in order to maximize the probability of escaping. Plus, there's a better chance there won't be as many guards, or at least highly alert ones."

Romano considered this for a moment. "You have a point, but what if we're caught again? It would be easy to get captured, while during the day we could get away without a problem."

"Wouldn't that cause suspicion if one were to see someone running from the guards?"

"Who says we'd be running?"

"How else would we escape? We certainly couldn't just walk out. They'd have our heads in a minute. Those guards have eyes, and they'll use them."

"I understand. I think Gil would agree, so night it is."

* * *

Arthur had been cleaning dishes alongside Matthew for a few minutes, and the blind man had yet to say a word. Arthur decided to fix it.

"I...I, uh, had a question for you, if you don't mind." He flinched at the sound of his own voice, seeming too loud for the occasion.

Matthew stayed silent for another minute, before exhaling almost silently. "What is it?" He asked tiredly.

"The first night here, I had a dream about my childhood." Arthur confessed, putting his plate down. "It was when I was first starting to learn and master my magic. An-and...you were there. Teaching me, that is. Was I incorrect?"

"No."

"Then, may I ask, why didn't you say anything?"

"You weren't supposed to remember, Arthur." Matthew mumbled and shook his head. "I made a mistake."

Arthur frowned. "No, you didn't. You taught me everything I know, that can't possibly be bad!"

The other blonde rolled his eyes. "I wasn't authorized to teach you a single thing. Someone else was going to. So, I had to erase your memories. Obviously, that didn't work. Anything else?"

"No...or actually, yes. You're not human, of course. What are you? I've never been able to summon wings like you did, at least that realistically. In fact, I've never met anyone who could."

At this, Matthew actually laughed. "Forgot about those. I had always wanted to know what it was like to have a set of wings."

"So?"

"I can't tell you, silly." Matthew whispered, suddenly looking strikingly upset.

* * *

Peter shifted through the bags set on one of the beds in the bedroom him, Kiku, Arthur and Romano were sharing.

"A week's worth of food?" Called out Gilbert from his place at the other bed, mentally running through his list while pacing.

"Check."

"Medical supplies?"

"Hopefully unneeded, but check."

"Emergency papers?"

"Like fake IDs? Check."

"Money?"

"Check. Why can't Matthew come with us?"

"Compa- what?" Gilbert stood still, and looked over at Peter. "What do you mean?

Peter stopped as well, and put the bag in his hand down. "He's never actually gone with us, has he? Well, he'd be useful. So why not?"

"Peter," Gilbert said, "you know what happened last time, right? Last night, even? Mattie took over and he tried to kill us all. If that happens again, which it will, it won't be as calm."

"Don't you trust either of them?"

Gilbert blinked, caught off guard. "Of course, of course I do. I just don't want anyone killed."

"Then tell them that. Just let him come. Matt could stay in charge for just a while, couldn't he?"

"I suppose…"

"Plus, he hasn't been out of here that we know of for _ages_. He probably wants to spend some time with his own damn husband, don't you think? Gil?" Peter demanded, arms crossed and a knowing look on his face.

That one got to Gilbert. The kid was right, really… "But...I just want to protect him!"

"From what? Other people? He could take anyone who hurts him, and you know that. Himself, then?"

Gilbert fixed Peter with a pleading look.

"Gil, he lost that battle a long time ago. Just let him come with us. That's all I want."

The older sighed. "We'll ask him."

Peter smiled softly.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the living room this time, sitting in various places. Kiku sat straight up on a chair. Romano, Arthur and Peter shared a couch. Matthew was perched on another chair, looking downcast. Gilbert was leaning against the arm of the trio's chair, and looking straight at Matthew.

"Matt-" he started.

"Well," Matthew interrupted tersely, "I wish you luck on your journey and all of those pleasantries."

Gilbert winced, but continued. "Matt, I-I, uh, wanted to know- well, _we _wanted to know if you um...wanted to come with us. This time."

Matthew froze and his eyes went wide. "Wait, w-what? What are you...what do you mean?" The blonde asked, head tilting up to look at Gilbert.

"Yeah...I just," Gilbert scratched the back of his head, "you seemed upset when we said we were leaving, but Peter yelled some sense into me-" Peter smirked "-and I figured 'well, what can it hurt?' so, would you? Want to?"

The host blinked once, then twice. A third time, just to make sure. Gilbert...Gil wanted _him_ to go with all of them? On an adventure?...Seriously?

Apparently he had said that out loud, because Gilbert nodded- it was more a tilt of the head, but a nod the same. He had a strange expression on his face, as if Matthew would yell at him or deny his invitation.

Matthew felt his face split into a grin, and he shook slightly with elation. He nodded frantically, jumping up to hug Gilbert.

"Oh, yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'd love to!" He said into Gilbert's shoulder, causing the other to smile, relieved.

"Awesome."

Arthur frowned and looked between Peter and Gilbert. "I don't mean to cause offense, but is this really the safest option? I mean…" He trailed off, casting a hesitant look to Matthew.

Matthew pulled away from Gilbert to face the other blonde, and was still grinning a little. "You're right, Arthur. I shouldn't have jumped into this so easily." He admitted, smile completely gone.

The Brit's eyes widened in surprise. "No, that's not what I meant! I'm just saying perhaps we could come up with an alternative way for you to accompany us. That's all."

"Like...we could use a scrying- no, that wouldn't work. Uh, a two-way mirror? No wait, not that. Maybe-" Peter 0ffered, tapping his chin in thought.

Matthew laughed, more of a short exhale than anything. "Thanks, Peter. But maybe I should sit this one out, if it's that much of a problem. I-I wouldn't…" his shoulders slumped, "I wouldn't hurt any of you, I swear. And, I mean you could talk to- to- _him _and I'm _sure_ it would be alright…" He smiled hopefully, looking at Arthur.

Arthur winced. _Oh great, now I feel like an ass… _"No no, I'm sorry. I was just a little concerned. I uh, I can't stop you from coming. You'll be helpful." He stammered, feeling like he just kicked a kitten or something. _Just a little white lie. To cheer him up?_

The blind man's smile returned, and his eyes were a little watery. "Really? You- you think that? Oh, thank you! I can! I can help!" He exclaimed, clasping his hands together. "Do you guys need another job?"

Gilbert frowned, in thought. "I...assume so, seeing as the last one didn't go too well." He said, looking pointedly at Arthur and Romano. "Why, Matt?"

"I know someone who, who probably has a thing for you! Not a fancy, that's not what I meant, but another job. I'll take you to them?"

Kiku smiled. "That would be wonderful, Matthew. Thank you." He added.

Matthew grinned, and turned back to Gilbert. "Well, the jury is in! Where to now, captain?" He asked excitedly.

* * *

Romano noted with dread it was starting to get dark out. As in, very very very dark. He could hardly see his hands in front of him. That was alarming.

He nudged Arthur with his shoulder. The blonde turned and squinted, apparently having the same problem.

"Okay," Romano sighed, "I'm not gonna complain, because this is nature and shit, but I literally can't see where we're going at all."

Arthur nodded in agreement. "Right? we could be heading in the wrong direction for all we know!"

Gilbert chimed in with, "Not that you'd notice, as you couldn't find your way anywhere without the awesome me."

Romano and Arthur sighed in unison and replied, "Shut up."

"Would this help?" Kiku asked, and snapped his fingers on one hand. A flame erupted from them, bright enough to see from, but dim enough to be mistaken as a torch from a good distance away.

"Yes, thank you!"

"Ah, finally. Thanks Kiku."

An hour or so later, the village came into view. Gilbert stopped them at the entrance, away from sight.

"Okay guys, here's the deal. Matthew: we'll need an invisibility spell or something. Can you do that?"

The blond saluted and nodded. "Yessir!"

Matthew paused for a second, before disappearing from view.

The others slowly did the same, until no one saw anyone else.

"Uh…we can't see each other." Gilbert pointed out, and Matthew cursed under his breath. He clapped, and everyone came into view once more.

"There we go," Matthew said, "now we are invisible- I'm pretty sure -however, you can all see each other. Now what?"

"Now, we ride!"

"...That was a little _too_ cheesy, idiot."

* * *

Well hello there! How have you been? Good, I hope? Awesome!

So yeah...Sorry about the lateness. I guess I just can't keep a schedule very well. I hope you don't mind.

Okay guys, so I'm having my wisdom teeth out tomorrow (yikes!) and definitely won't update, that's why it's today. The good thing is, I'll have a lot of time to figure out what happens next! The bad thing, I'll most likely be medicated and in pain. So we'll see just how fun the next chapter ends up being, huh?

Another thing: I've decided to start using my tumblr as a notification thingy for Safe Haven and whatever else I'll start. I'm at: the-forgotten-traveller. Feel free to check it out. I'll be waiting!

ALSO! (I have so much to say…) The story of the week is…"I Am Sad, You Are Beautiful, We Were Tragic" by, yet again, Italian Skunk. It's a Spamano, and extremely well-written. I can't tell you much about it, as it's still updating and at Chapter Three, but if you like her stuff, then you'll love this. (Prepare to have your heart ripped from your chest in the nicest way imaginable)

That's it, for now. Be sure to check out my other stories (self-advertisement for the win) and if you have any requests, just PM 'em to me.

See ya,

The Forgotten Traveller~


	10. Chapter 10

"_Now, we ride!"_

"_...That was a little_ too_ cheesy, idiot."_

* * *

"...Are you fucking kidding me?" Romano angrily whispered, throwing his hands in front of him in disbelief.

There he was, right in their room. The one they had previously rented. And it was empty.

No bags, no weapons, no nothing. He had gone through _all this work_\- for what? Nothing!

"Fuck this," he murmured, and checked the darker corners of the room once more. Seeing no one, he turned around and walked over to the open window he came in from, and stuck his head out from it.

Peter and Kiku were standing outside, leaning against the wall of the building nonchalantly.

Romano cleared his throat, catching the duo's attention. They looked up at him.

"It's a bust, guys." He stated and rolled his eyes. "I dunno where all our shit is, but it's not here." He climbed out and sat on the windowsill for a moment before hopping down to the ground.

Peter groaned loudly, causing a few passer-by to look over with concern. "Argh, why does this _always_ happen to _us_?! Can't we have something that goes right for us? Just once?"

"Our luck seems to run out at the worst times," Kiku agreed as he nodded.

The brunet snorted. "You can say that again," he muttered. He looked around the street, trying to remember which way they came from. "I could be doing so many other things right now!"

"Like my brother?" Peter asked knowingly, popping up suddenly next to the Italian man.

Romano jumped, causing Kiku to cover a laugh with a cough. "Ch-christ, kid!" He spluttered, placing a hand against his heart. "Cut that out, will you?"

Peter laughed. "But you will, won't you! After all, it's been, what- three days? Two?"

"Shut up, Peter," Romano groaned with the decency to blush a little. "That's not all our relationship entails, you know."

"Mhm, sure," Peter replied, rolling his eyes.

"Shut _up_!"

"You can't make me, you angry man!"

"Oh, you wanna bet, huh? Lemme show you something…"

Kiku sighed and moved to separate the two, who were a minute away from breaking into (yet another) fistfight in the middle of a town. "Please calm down. Gilbert didn't ask you to fight, he asked us to search the room. And have we done that?"

Romano and Peter glared at each other, silent.

The Tengu's eyes narrowed, and he repeated in a lower, darker tone, "_And have we done that?_"

The air remained tense. Romano's hand twitched at his side, where one of his trusty knives was, without a doubt, placed.

Peter sneered and crossed his arms, eyes daring the other. _C'mon, make a scene, make a scene…_

Finally, Romano scoffed in disgust and turned his head. "Whatever," he ground out, and stormed away in the direction of their temporary hideout.

Again, Kiku sighed. "Can't you two just get over it? If we're going to work as a team," he lectured, "you cannot be arguing all the time!"

"Kiku, it was just this one time, calm dow-"

"No, Peter. It's not _just this one time_! It'll happen more and more, and since you're stubborn and won't make up, this- this _rift_ between you two will just grow and grow and it won't be fixed, and one day you'll both just _leave_ and you know where that puts me? Alone! All alone, again, so just _please_ just stop! Stop it!"

By the end, Kiku was covering his ears, hands shaking. His eyes were shut tightly, and his voice had risen dramatically.

Peter looked on in shock; he had never seen Kiku so worked up over a simple argument. The blonde cautiously reached toward his friend, as if to comfort him, but Kiku flinched away.

"I-I'm sorry," Kiku whispered, and his voice cracked. He dragged his sleeve across his eyes. "I didn't- I'm sorry- it's just-" he cut himself off, and took a deep breath. "Let's...just go. They're waiting for us." He finished with an obviously fake smile.

Peter frowned, but nodded slowly anyways. "Yeah…" he trailed off, tearing his gaze away from Kiku and to the road. If he looked hard enough, he could still see Romano's figure in the distance. "It's that way," he supplied unnecessarily.

He took Kiku's hand and gently led him away.

* * *

Romano arrived at the little spot Gilbert picked out while they figured out what to do a few minutes later.

Gilbert looked at him curiously from his place on the ground with his arms around Matthew and his head on the blond's shoulder.

"What's up, Rome?" Gilbert asked, looking behind him for- most likely -Peter and Kiku.

The brunet rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Nothing," he said, irritated. "Just Peter being, well, _Peter_." He huffed again and slid down the wall next to Arthur.

Arthur frowned faintly, but chose not to say anything in lieu of taking his lover's hand.

"What was he doing?" Matthew questioned suddenly, causing Romano to jump. He had nearly forgotten the blind man was there.

"Like I said, nothing. We just...got into an argument, and I stormed off. That's it."

Gilbert nodded slightly. "Hm. Alright. Are they close behind?"

"I don't know. I didn't look back."

"Oh. Okay then."

Everyone fell into an awkward silence. The only noises were from the outside world, of people laughing and talking and shouting and living their normal lives.

Romano exhaled softly, too quiet to grasp someone's attention. He wished Peter wouldn't think so lowly of him and Arthur together. What did he know, anyway? It's not like he had ever been in a relationship before, right? Romano's own brother didn't really count...they weren't even together.

So what if the two..._enjoyed_ each other's presence, maybe a little too much. What's it to him? They had a perfectly healthy relationship!

...Of course they did! Arguing was a larger fix in their association than Romano would have liked, but every couple has their flaws. Perhaps they could talk it out later. Yes, that would work! And maybe even-

His thoughts were cut off by movement near the entrance of their little hideout.

Peter stuck his head in and looked around. He smiled at them all, but pointedly ignored Romano.

_It's better to be ignored than to be negatively noticed, I suppose..._Romano mused.

The blond walked in with Kiku right behind him and took his spot next to Matthew and Gilbert. Kiku sat down right next to him, looking a little shaken. Romano decided he might ask about it later, but it was clear the Tengu didn't want to talk about it- or anything in general right then.

"Okay," Peter began, "so what's Plan B here? Our stuff's gone."

Matthew sat up. "As in, stolen? Or just...gone?"

"I'm assuming no one stole anything," Gilbert answered, "seeing as we weren't followed, and it's only been a couple of days since we left. That's hardly enough time for someone to get here from anywhere, really."

"That's true. So, where would it be then?" Matthew asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

Peter shrugged. "I mean, I guess we could ask someone, right? It wouldn't hurt."

The room was quiet as the idea was thought over.

"Well…" Gilbert trailed off.

"He's right, I guess. There's no harm in...just, _asking_. Is there?" Arthur pondered.

"Yeah," Romano agreed, surprising himself, "but none of us can go in, obviously. Someone will recognise us."

Gilbert nodded. "Right. Matthew?" He looked down at his lover, who hummed in acknowledgment. "You're the only one who wasn't with us when we escaped. Would you do the honors?"

Matthew sighed in exaggeration and slowly stood up. "I _suppose_," he drawled, smiling right after.

"Awesome! Okay, Matt. Have fun, be safe. Don't get stolen!" Gilbert laughed, and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

And so he left.

* * *

Matt was a little bit scared, not that he would admit it.

He didn't know his way around this town particularly well, seeing as though he could count the number of times he had been there on one hand.

Mattie certainly wasn't helping either, the ass.

_Don't trip! _He would shout, making Matt jump every time. _Watch out!_

"Shut up," he whispered to the other. His head turned left and right, searching for a sign to lead him back to the room.

_Did you hear that? He told me to shut up! Ha! You wish._

Matt sighed. He really should have paid more attention to Gilbert when he told him where they had stayed.

Was it a hotel? A tavern? Who knows!

_Why should he tell you?_

"Oh, I don't know," Matt muttered, "so I can actually get their stuff?"

_That didn't turn out too well last time._

"Who's fault was that? Mine? You're the one that took over."

_I should always be in charge. You're too weak for this kind of shit._

"Won't you just shut up?..._Please?_"

_Hmph. I can tell when I'm not needed. By the way, you're going the wrong way._

At this, Matt stopped, a frown on his face. "How would you know that?"

_You told me to shut up._

"...Whatever," Matt sighed, but turned in the opposite direction anyways. "Happy?"

_...I suppose._

* * *

Matt eventually did find himself back at the building. He couldn't tell what type of establishment it was, but many voices were coming from it, as well as random spots of color.

He carefully made his way inside, putting on a lost face. He found people were more helpful when he overplayed his..._disability_.

And, soon enough, someone came up to him. (A nice yellow color, he found himself drawn to it)

"Excuse me? Sir?" The voice asked, a slightly higher pitch than most men sounded. Matt turned to it.

"Yes?" He answered, the distraught look still there.

"May I help you? You look...lost."

Matt sighed in a relieved way. "Oh, yes please! I have a question for the manager of this fine place. Could you take me to them?"

There was a pause. "Well, I could try…"

"W-would you? Really? Thank you so much! It would really mean a lot to me."

He suddenly felt his hand being tugged, and he followed its lead.

In a couple of minutes, they were there. Wherever 'there' was, Matt didn't know, but the person had stopped anyway.

"Ma'am? Yes, this gentleman here has a question for you." The first person said, and walked away.

Matt looked to the new aura (purple, how quaint), a sheepish smile on his face. "Are you the owner of this place?"

"That would be me," the woman answered, and Matt could hear the smile.

"Wonderful!" He clapped, "I was wondering if you could help me. You see, I'm a traveller- strange, I know -and I was staying here a few days ago. I went out to see a friend during that stay, and on my way back, I got lost." He put on a pout for effect. "It actually took a couple of days to try and get someone to help me find my way, but when I did, and found my room, it was empty! So I came down here to ask you if you knew where it all went?"

The woman paused, most likely taking in all the information Matthew gave. Then she hummed, "That's a lot of stuff for just one person,"

Matthew rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yes, I know. But I've been travelling for a very long time."

"Really? How long, may I ask?"

"Oh...hm, a few years now. It's been really neat, seeing the world! Or- heh, you know what I mean!" Matthew laughed quietly at his own joke.

The woman laughed along hesitantly, "Well, that's interesting. But how do I know these things are actually yours?"

_Huh, didn't think about that, did you?_

Matthew froze for a second, rapidly trying to think of something. He's holding it for a friend? He's been collecting things ever since he started?

"I'm sorry if that seems suspicious to you," he said slowly, "but I really like collecting things from my travels, Nostalgia, you know?"

The aura moved, and Matt assumed she nodded.

He hesitantly pressed forward. "I hope there isn't a late fee, I don't have very much money. I think I spent the last of it on this place," he mused. "but if there is, I've got a cousin who can send money, I just need to contact him, so don't worry about that!"

"No, sir, there's no fee."

"No? Oh, thank goodness!" He flashed a bright smile in her direction. "That's a relief."

"Would you like some help?" She asked, confusing Matt.

"'Help'?" He echoed. "With what?"

A pause. "Retrieving your things. Do you need any help with getting them to your current location?"

Matt thought it over for a second. It would be pretty convenient to have someone help him...but he couldn't have them finding out he was helping escaped convicts.

_You could just kill him afterwards,_ Mattie added unhelpfully.

He ignored his counterpart, refraining from rolling his eyes. "You know, I think I'm alright," he decided.

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Of course," Matt nodded, "I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself."

"That's not what I meant!" The woman replied hurriedly. Matt had to stifle a laugh. "Er, it's just- a lot of stuff. Sorry, sir."

"It's fine," he smiled, "so where are my things?"

"Oh, um, right over here. Just, follow my voice?"

"Sure thing."

* * *

An hour later, Matthew staggered into the hiding place, completely laden with bags and satchels.

"I'm back," he wheezed, on the verge of collapsing.

Gilbert sprung up from his spot on the floor. He approached his lover with open arms and began to relieve him of some of his burden.

Peter stood up as well, and took a couple of bags from Matthew's arm. "Huh," he observed, "you take 'two trips are for the weak' really seriously for a blind guy."

Matthew rolled his eyes and dropped the rest of his things. "Thanks, Peter," He replied sarcastically, "but it would've been impossible for me to go back and get the rest of this."

"I would've helped you…" Gilbert mumbled to himself, rifling through the satchel closest to him. "Here, Romano, this one's yours...I'm pretty sure?"

"Mm, thanks….Hey, so that's where those were…"

"And Kiku, these are your swords."

"Thank you."

Matthew shuffled to the wall and sat down against it, yawning against his will. He closed his eyes, intent on a little rest before they moved on. Carrying that much for that long- what was it, a mile? Two? -was surprisingly difficult. He was way too out of shape for this.

"Peter?" Gilbert called out, holding up a few small knives, "Are these yours?"

Peter squinted at the offered items, before shaking his head and leaning back. "No, I think they're Romano's."

"Oh. Here, Rome."

"Awesome." Romano said distractedly, preoccupied with checking his weapons for damage.

Gilbert hummed, and turned back to the somewhat smaller pile of luggage. "This...is going to take a while."

* * *

Everything had finally been sorted out. Gilbert's companions were content for now, Matthew was calm enough, no one was arguing (Peter and Romano still weren't talking to each other, but Gilbert could do nothing about that.) and they were making surprising time.

Gilbert was leading the way out of the village. It was almost done, so he was walking a little faster than normal.

Matthew was lagging next to him, seeming dazed.

Gilbert frowned and gently took the blond's arm. "Matt, come on," he chided, "we gotta go."

"Oh, right." Matthew shook his head and caught up with his lover.

"Matt, are you alright?" Gilbert asked quietly, sure not to gain the attention of the others lest he embarrass Matthew.

Matthew nodded slowly, head tilted to the ground. "I'm fine," he murmured, "just a little tired." He nodded again.

"Alright, you can rest when we stop, okay? Do you need anything?"

A shake of the head.

"Okay…" Gilbert doesn't let go of Matthew's arm, and slides his hand down to connect with the other's. He turned his attention to the scenery around him, checking if he recognized where they were.

No such luck.

Large trees guarded them on either side of the road. If Gilbert listened past the conversation between Arthur and Kiku- ("I don't think I ever realized we both shared such a fondness for tea!") -he could hear birds chirping in the distance, a waterfall that must have been to their right a ways, and the wind rustling the leaves above them.

He smiled. This wasn't too bad, now was it?

It almost made him think they were all okay.

* * *

Matt felt dizzy. He had a headache, too, which was not fun at all.

_Oh, poor you._

He rolled his eyes, and didn't respond.

_Really? This is how you repay me?_

"For what?" He whispered. Gilbert's aura shifted, and Matt fancied he looked over.

_Helping you today, of course. I go through all this trouble, and you ignore me. Rude._

"I'm not ignoring you."

_Well, _now _you aren't. _

"Shut up, you're not helping." He massaged his temple with his free hand.

_Why should I care? _

Matt sighed softly. "This is your body, too, so if you don't want it destroyed, you'll shut up or help."

Silence. Matt grinned, confident he'd won this round, before a sharp pain hit his head.

He stumbled, caught off guard, and Gilbert automatically steadied him.

"What the _hell _are you doing," Matt hissed, glaring at the blackness in front of him.

_You know_, Mattie observed, _I haven't been in control for a while._

"There's a reason for that," Matt replied, "and besides, you had night before last."

_Only for a minute before your asshole of a guard dog kicked me out._

"So?"

_Like you said, this is my body too. Don't you know sharing is caring?_

"Well…"

_It's not very fair, with you in control all day and all night, while I'm stuck in here looking over ancient memories that I've seen a million times._

"I-..."

_Yeah. It fucking _sucks.

"I...could give up for a while…"

_Oh, you would? How generous._

Matt glanced over at Gilbert, silently apologizing.

_Finally!_

* * *

*emerges from hell* I'm finally back! Didja miss me?

But seriously, guys, this went out of control. The wait, not the chapter. (Though it is 3,000 words...I think I did pretty good.) I'm going to try and keep a better schedule, I swear. School's starting next week, so we'll see how much time I have then.

Look! Character development! Holy shit! Isn't that cool? We got to see a little into Kiku, and Matt and Mattie, and Romano, and yeah! Pretty neat, if I do say so myself.

(I'll give you a hint for the next chapter: Nordics, Nordics, Nordics! Easy enough?)

Oh! By they way, if you haven't seen it yet, I uploaded a new story. It's called Normalities, and it's a gift for Italian Skunk. (So cool!) It has a different style to it, I'll give you that. Go check it out, would you?

Okay, fic of the chapter: A Day in the Life Of, by Stomei97. It's actually a series, put into one story! How cool is that? If you've read any of the A Day in the Life Of stories previously, here they all are, together in a single book. Give it a look, and some love~

Well, I think that's it for this time...have you guys had a good time while I've been gone? I hope so! (I also updated my profile, it looks so cool! The links, however, **do not**work for some reason, so just PM me or look them up if you want them.)

Until next time! (^.^)7


	11. Chapter 11

_Matt glanced over at Gilbert, silently apologizing._

Finally!

* * *

Mattie gasped and stopped walking as he felt control (_pure control!_) fill him. He stretched, grinning.

"Finally!" He repeated out loud, for the first time in so so long. An uncharacteristically cheerful laugh bubbled out of him.

Gilbert started as he heard Mattie's voice, and stared at him. Before asking, he looked at Mattie's face, now etched in glee, to the murky eyes the same color as his own.

The blond spun around in a complete circle, gaining the attention of everyone who wasn't looking at him already.

Gilbert paled at the sight and ran a hand through his hair. _This...is going to be a long journey._

"Mattie...?" He asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Mattie's head whipped around to look in his direction, his expression changing completely to a disgusted scowl. "It's you," He spat accusatively, crossing his arms. "and here I had hoped you had gone off and died or something."

"What, since last night? Since an hour ago?" Gilbert couldn't help but retort, mimicking Mattie's own stance.

"Call it wishful thinking. Now, what're we doing today? My darling counterpart failed to let me know."

Peter, in the back of the group, gasped belatedly and shoved past the others to throw his arms around the frowning blond.

"_Jas-_er, _Mattie!_" He exclaimed happily, looking up at Mattie.

The blind man froze at the physical contact before relaxing once he realized it was Peter. "Oi, you're crushing me." He mumbled out of a small smile, ruffling the child's hair.

"Oh, you're back! It's been forever! Well, except for like, what was it, last night or something, when you tried to kill us-"

"I am actually sorry for that."

"-but for real, Matt let you take over?"

Mattie smirked. "Yep." He replied smugly, running one hand through Peter's hair again.

The fairy whined and shook his head. "Mattie," he complained, "stop it! You know I hate that."

"Sorry, kid." Mattie grinned without looking sorry at all.

The remaining trio gaped at Mattie in shock, all three frozen where they stood. Metaphorically, that is.

Romano was the first to break, face morphing into a snarl. He stormed forward, settling his hands on Mattie's shoulders and looking straight into the blond's sightless eyes.

"_What_," he growled forcefully and tightened his grip, "the _hell _do you think you're doing here."

It wasn't a question.

Mattie didn't shake or quiver or cry, much to Romano's disappointment. He only grinned madly and winked. "Goodness," he drawled with a hint of sarcasm, "you haven't even taken me out to dinner yet." He carefully removed Romano's hands from his own shoulders, pushing them towards the brunet. "Getting all touchy, yikes!"

Romano seethed and crossed his arms. "Shut up, you didn't answer me." He demanded.

"Oh?" Mattie faked confusion, tilting his head in a mocking position. "Sorry, must've slipped my mind. And hold on," he tapped his chin in thought, "now why should I be telling _you_, of all people, why I'm in control of my own body? Is it any of your business?"

"Gee," Romano shot right back, "maybe when you tried to kill us? Remember that, asshole?"

Mattie's smile faltered, and he opened his mouth- no doubt, to give another scathing remark. Arthur decided it was time to intervene before fists flew or something.

"Okay, okay," Arthur said calmly, "let's not get to blows, alright? That's the last thing we need." He looked pointedly at his lover, a stern expression set in his face.

Romano scoffed, but stepped back a foot or so. "Fine." He ground out, nose in the air. "But if this...this _maniac_-" Mattie flinched at the name, and it went unnoticed by everyone but Gilbert "-tries to hurt you, or, or anyone else...I won't allow it."

The blind man laughed softly, backing up as well. "Sure you won't." Before Romano could reply, he continued on, "Anyways, I guess we haven't had a proper..._introduction._ Shall we?"

That earned strange looks from the whole group, Gilbert included. It wasn't like Mattie to be so civil around others. He suspected Matt had something to do with it.

Romano blinked, confused. "Uh, I guess?"

Mattie smiled pleasantly for the first time, though it did look a little forced to Arthur. "Right. Hello, I'm...call me Mattie." He held out his arm slightly to the left of where it should've been.

"...Romano." The Italian offered. He took Mattie's hand and shook it, still looking lost.

The blond's eyebrows raised. "Oh, so that's you then? The Romano I've heard so much about?"

"Yes?"

"Huh. Nice to put a name to the voice, I guess. So when did you change it?"

Romano made a confused noise. "Changed what?"

"Your name. When did you change it? Last time I heard, you were at the top of the heap with a chill that ran up your spine at the very mention of the great Lo-"

He was cut off by Romano, who inhaled sharply and cleared his throat. "That's...that's not me, you hear? Not…"

Mattie laughed cruelly, finishing Romano's sentence. "Not anymore? Right. Forgot about that. I suppose you're trying to, as well."

Romano's face went blank. He sighed, and did nothing more.

Gilbert sighed as well, and spoke up. "Okay, Mattie, you can stop now. Just, let's get going. We have places to be."

"Yeah, yeah. People to see. I know." Mattie smirked. "Just wanted to meet the guys Matt's so fond of."

He then turned to Kiku, who was looking on, silent, the whole time.

"You must be...well, you can't be Arthur, not Lovino-" "It's _Romano_," "-of course, not Peter or Gilbert, so you must be Kiku."

Kiku started, not expecting the attention of Mattie to fall upon him. "Um, yes. That's me."

Mattie nodded slightly. "It's actually nice to meet you, Kiku."

"Likewise…"

"Mattie," Gilbert warned, "we need to go."

The blond rolled his cloudy eyes. "Whatever you say, boss." He replied with a mock salute.

Gilbert shook his head and grabbed Mattie's arm, dragging him along the path. "We've spent enough time fooling around, we should have been there yesterday!" He lectured, waving his free hand in the air for emphasis.

Peter followed right behind, face still lit up from seeing Mattie. He was stopped by Arthur, who grabbed his hand and tugged him back to walk by the taller blond.

"Don't walk too close to him," Arthur murmured into Peter's ear, "you might get hurt."

Peter looked up at Arthur in shock, before scoffing and yanking his arm away from his brother. "Mattie wouldn't hurt me." He answered confidently.

Arthur sighed and glanced to Romano. The brunet was walking along the path, but his eyes were on the ground and his posture seemed defeated.

Instead of pursuing Peter, who had walked ahead of him, Arthur turned to Romano and walked beside him.

He took Romano's hand gently, though it still caused Romano to jump slightly. He looked up at his lover and smiled weakly.

"Hi," he whispered, squeezing his hand.

"Hi to you, too," Arthur replied, giving a warm smile back. "How are you?"

Romano sighed. "Could be better," he tried to joke, "wasn't expecting him to know the old me…"

Arthur exhaled as well, and nodded. "Me either, I have no idea how he even knows that. Have you met him before? I mean, before?"

"I don't think so," Romano replied, shaking his head. "I would've remembered it."

"Hmm," Arthur hummed, and the two fell silent.

Meanwhile, Kiku was very confused. Everyone seemed to have had previous interactions with this side of Matthew, whether they remembered it or not. Kiku couldn't recall a single time before just a few days ago when he had heard the name 'Matthew'- that is, pertaining to _this _Matthew.

So...why did he seem to know Kiku? The Tengu supposed he wasn't the only one with that problem. Romano didn't look very happy, and he had never said a thing about knowing Mattie or Matt.

Now, Arthur _did _know something about Matt, that was for sure. Kiku knew the two had talked their first full day at Matthew's house, just the two of them alone, but that was the extent of his knowledge. Arthur hadn't talked about it.

None of them talked about their past. Even with how close they were. At least, no one said anything to Kiku.

_Do they not trust me?_

The thought struck like a blow, and Kiku actually faltered in his step. That wasn't possible! Of course they _trusted _him, why wouldn't they? All of them had been together for so long now…

_But what do I even know about them? Anything about why they're here now?_

Kiku suddenly felt like he was the only one around, even though he could clearly see Romano and Arthur in front of him, and the other three in front of them.

He felt very, very alone.

* * *

Mattie felt a shift somewhere behind him, and frowned. He kept walking, but turned his head to look out of the corner of his eyes.

_What's wrong? _He heard Matt ask. He ignored it.

Arthur...was fine. All the colors were still there.

Romano...hardly there, but nothing changed.

Kiku…? What happened to Kiku?

His aura was all off, for some reason. It was much more solid than normal. Strange.

* * *

Gilbert was not very pleased with Matt's choice. It was a very inconvenient time for Mattie to be in control, what with them moving out and all.

He sighed, and took a look at Mattie. The blond was frowning- no surprise there -and looking confused.

That...was different. Mattie always pretended he knew everything, and if he didn't know it, he certainly didn't show it like _that_.

"Hey," he whispered as to not attract the others' attention, "what's up?"

Mattie started, obviously not expecting Gilbert to talk to him. He turned his head to face the path before them, face back to its normal blank, slightly bored state.

"What, finally decide to talk to me? Even though your precious Matt isn't here?" He asked smugly. Gilbert could hardly detect the tint of hurt.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You just looked a little confused, that's all. Forget I asked."

Mattie scoffed, crossing his arms. "SInce when have _you _cared about me?"

"I do care about you!"

"Uh-huh, sure you do. That's why you put me back the other night? Because you care about me."

"You were trying to _kill us_, Mattie. Sorry for trying to save their lives."

"Gilbert," Mattie said, "it could've killed us, too. You can't just do that, it's very dangerous. You're lucky nothing happened this time."

_Wait...what?!_

"Mattie? Are you serious?"

"No," The blond sneered, "I'm trying to scare you. Of _course_ I'm being serious! Think about what would happen if you forced me back, for example, and I accidentally merged with Matt."

Gilbert looked down in shock and, in fact, thought about it. The two of them would become one person again...but they were so different now…

Mattie nodded. "Yeah, it would be bad. So next time? Just don't."

"I'm- I am sorry about that. But why were you attacking us in the first place?" Gilbert asked, now curious.

"I had no idea it was you who was there. I thought there were people I didn't know, and I got scared. I couldn't focus, I got so mad."

Mattie stumbled over a dip in the path. "I didn't mean to hurt you…" He whispered.

"I know," Gilbert said, and surprisingly, he did know. "You're not _that _cruel."

"Was that...a compliment?" Mattie asked jokingly.

Gilbert gasped playfully. "Oh no! Perhaps it was!"

Mattie shook his head, but the corner of his mouth was hitched up, so Gilbert knew he wasn't too upset.

_Alright...this isn't too bad...Mattie's content, Peter seems pretty happy, Romano's mad but he'll get over it in a while...on second thought, I'll talk to him later about it. Arthur's fine, he'll comfort Romano...Kiku? Kiku's alright...this is good!_

Gilbert smiled. Maybe everything wouldn't be too bad, after all.

* * *

_So...what's up?_

Mattie tilted his head. "What do you mean?" He murmured quietly.

_I don't know, you were talking to Gilbert. Was is alright?_

"Of course, dummy. You heard me."

_Well, yeah, but...nevermind. Is Kiku alright?_

The blond sneaked a look behind him. Kiku was simply walking, looking a little lost but fine.

"Yeah, he's great. I mean, I guess. I don't know him all that well, but he seems fine enough."

_Oh. Well, alright._

Mattie sighed. "Gilbert, where are we even going?"

Sighing as well, Gilbert replied, "You don't need to know, it's none of your business."

"Excuse me? It's none of _my _business, you say?"

Gilbert muttered, "Oh god, nevermind."

"How in the _hell _is it none of my business?!" Mattie exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I am just as much of a person as any of you, I'm on this stupid 'mission', or _whatever _this is, and for _some _reason you won't even tell me where the fuck we're even going! That is _unfair_, Gilbert, and I know you don't like me, and I'm sorry about that, but _please _just tell me what's going on!"

The blond kept up his pace, but his breathing was heavier now, his face flushed, and he looked more upset than any other time before.

Gilbert groaned, guilt slowly filling him. All he had wanted was a nice, _quiet_ little trip with his lover, and he got _this _instead? An angry, overdramatic counterpart who played on his feelings? Great. Just _great_. Now he felt like crap. It wasn't as if he didn't like Mattie, it was just...the two butted heads too often to get along. Sometimes, Gilbert got the impression Mattie would argue every point with him just because he wanted to.

But that wasn't important. Mattie was mad, which would register with Matt, who would ask why Mattie was mad, and then Mattie would get upset all over again just telling Matt what had happened, which made for an angry Matt, a still-upset Mattie, and overall, not a good time.

"I _knew _I should've left you two home…" He muttered tiredly and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, whatever." He said louder, shaking his head. "Did Matt not tell you or anything? Nevermind, I don't care. I'll tell you anyways.

"We failed our last job, thanks to Arthur and Romano, who were found fucking in some hotel-"

"It was a _church_," Arthur interjected with what some might call a proud tone.

"-which got them captured, and sentenced to execution at dawn. _That _got them noticed by people, specifically the people we were supposed to be intimidating or bribing or something. And _that_ meant they would recognize us, which was the exact opposite of what we were supposed to be doing. This job isn't all that important, so we decided to give it up due to 'complications' and go get another one."

Gilbert took a deep breath afterwards, and closed his eyes. "Happy now?" He asked scathingly.

Mattie rolled his sightless eyes, still not over Gilbert's comment. "Whatever." He sighed, uninterested.

The blond's rant had gained the attention of the whole group for a minute, before they went back to their own business. They were all getting used to Mattie's, ah, _exuberant _behavior, so his outburst wasn't too much of a shock. Gilbert's however, was more surprising. Hardly ever would he snap at anyone, let alone so harshly, let alone his own lover. It seemed a little suspicious to those not involved in the conversation.

Silence dominated for the next few minutes, nobody brave enough to break it. The air was tense as both Mattie and Gilbert were on edge and upset.

Peter frowned at this, unsure of what to do next. He loved both Gilbert and Mattie equally, and the fact that both of them were mad distressed him as well. _If those two would get along better, _Peter decided, _this would be a lot more relaxing, and a lot more fun._

As he readied himself to say his thoughts, a loud crash sounded somewhere ahead and to the left of the group, followed by a frustrated cry.

It caused Peter to jump and whip his head around to try and locate the source of the noise. Was it a wild animal? Possibly, though that kind of cry sounded strangely human. He looked at his companions to see if they might recognize something about it.

Kiku seemed just as startled as Peter was, his eyes starting to glow faintly. Nothing from him.

Arthur had instinctively shifted in front of Romano, as if to protect him. He, too, was looking around in search of possible danger. A light shone from his cupped hands.

Mimicking Arthur, Romano had also tried to move in front of his lover. If it were any other time, Peter might've found it amusing.

Surprising to Peter, Gilbert didn't seem all too concerned. Sure, his hand immediately went to his hip, where his sword rested, and he held up a hand signaling them to stop, but he didn't look as panicked as he should have. Weird.

Mattie's reaction was the strangest by Peter's standard. The older blond was squinting in the direction the noise came from, as if he was trying to see what it was. That wasn't too abnormal, as Mattie could have just been searching for an aura or something.

The thing was, he actually looked excited, like he was seeing an old friend for the first time in years, or a lover. But how could he possibly know what it was?

Peter crept up next to Mattie and whispered, "What is it?"

The blind man started before replying in a soft tone as well, "I think I know, but I'm not sure." He smiled a tiny smile down at Peter. "We'll just have to see, now won't we?"

Peter nodded, then replied with a quiet 'yeah'. He, too, squinted to see if he could find anything.

Nothing. All he saw was the forest, but did that branch just snap? Did that tree just rustle?

Gilbert seemed to be thinking the same, because he turned his head to look at his friends. "Okay, I'm going to go investigate. Stay here." He instructed, but Mattie shook his head, eyes still trained on that one spot.

"No, you're not." The blond countered, shoving past Gilbert and walking towards the possible danger himself.

"Mattie-!" Gilbert tried to argue, but Mattie would have none of it, 'shush'ing him before he could even finish his sentence.

"Shut up, Matt wouldn't like you dead, so consider it a favor. Besides," Mattie stopped and turned a little, eyes meeting Gilbert's own, "I know what it is."

"But...oh, whatever." Gilbert huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't come crying to me when you're all-"

He was cut off again by Mattie's sudden loud yell of: "_Søren, you ass!_"

To say everyone was shocked would be quite the understatement.

* * *

*yet again rises from the pits of hell* Yes, hello, I am _not_, in fact, a fossil now. I am alive!

Hiya guys! Did you miss me over the past- oh sweet cinnamon has it been an entire _month _already?! I'm so sorry, everyone. I don't mean to stay away this long...like this time, and last time...I'm going to, as of this week, make a designated time to write, _every day. _Yep, you heard me: this could mean back to weekly updates! (Special note here for Italian Skunk: please remind me, will you? I know I'm going to forget.)

*silence* ...well, don't get _too _excited now, you hear?

Anyways, I know I promised Nordics, but is this close enough? No? Oh, well. They'll be in the next chapter, for absolute sure.

(Hey, I kind of make up for it by uploading a one-shot between each chapter, right? And the chapters are getting longer, too!...Right.)

Oh, before I go, I almost forgot the recommendation! Aha, sorry! Okay, make sure to take a good, long look with (yet another one of) Italian Skunk's stories, _Only in Summertime_. I'll give you one word: wanderlust.

(Are you tired of seeing their stories every time? Hmm, that's too bad.)

I think...that's about it. I hope all you guys have an absolutely wonderful life, okay? Keep up the great work! (You're all so brave~ I love each and every one of you.)

Until next time! See you all!


	12. Chapter 12

_He was cut off again by Mattie's sudden loud yell of: "_Søren, you ass!_"_

_To say everyone was shocked would be quite the understatement._

* * *

**Quick reference:**

Tuulí- Finland (wind)

Berwald/Nyk- Sweden (_Ber_: bear, _wald_: ruler)

Søren- Denmark (stern)

Niels- Norway (victory of the people; cognate of Nikolaos)

Katjana- Iceland (pure; nickname: Jana, means gift of God)

* * *

However, instead of some large and potentially murderous animal bursting out from the foliage to kill and eat them all, another very human voice called back.

"J-Jas?! Help!"

That did it for Mattie, who upon registering what the voice had said, started to move towards it faster than anyone really expected him to. His eyes were wide and wild, and a panicked look was on his face.

He stumbled through the foliage, trying to forge himself a path with no care for his own personal safety.

Gilbert blinked, stunned for a moment, before lurching forward and grabbing Mattie's waist. "Stop it, _stop!_" He demanded, dragging Mattie back.

"_Get away from me._" Mattie hissed venomously, glaring into Gilbert's eyes as he ripped himself away from Gilbert. "Don't you _dare_ touch me, you bastard."

"Uh-?"

Mattie's blind eyes narrowed as he remembered something. Smirking suddenly, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

He reappeared right where he wanted, in front of this problem. There were five different auras, but he recognized one of them immediately.

Everything was silent for a moment, before the still air burst with a voice.

"Jazzy-boy, so it _is _you! Long time no see, eh?"

Mattie smirked fondly. "Søren," he greeted with a nod in the human's direction. Probably. Most likely. Hopefully.

A laugh. Specifically, a loud, genuine laugh interrupted by a painful-sounding cough. "Aha, that's no way to say 'hello', you! Repeat after me, okay? 'Hello, Søren! You're so awesome, I really missed you!'"

This time, Mattie let out a snort and took a step further. "Screw yourself, Søren! You suck, I kind of missed you." He replied, shaking his head.

"Hm...close enough, don't you think, Niel?"

Mattie blinked, about to reply with something dangerously close to 'and Søren's delusional again' but a second voice answered him.

"What-...Søren, this is _not _the time to be joking!" The voice, melodic and quiet but stern nonetheless, argued.

Oh. Oh, right, yes, there were a few more auras than just Søren's. Four more. How had he not noticed?

"Psh, don't be worried! I'm just talking to an old friend-"

"While you're sitting here, _dying_!"

Mattie glared in Søren's direction. "Who else did you bribe to come with you?"

Søren laughed again, weakly. "Just a few friends. What, are you jealous?"

"Ha. You wish, asshole." Mattie replied distractedly, trying to scan over Søren in order to look for any injuries. Not that it helped much, being blind and all, but on occasion, there could be a spot in one's aura when injured that is either brighter or dimmer than the rest.

Unfortunately, Søren was human. Which meant he had next to no magic. Which meant next to no aura. Granted, it was still there, still a dull grey color, but that was it. No white spots, no black spots, just grey. Great.

"Søren." Mattie stepped closer and dropped to his knees in front of Søren with a frown. "What did you do?" He demanded and tried to look directly into where his eyes probably were.

He reached out and poked some part of the injured human. Søren inhaled sharply and winced.

"J-just a little scuffle, Jas! Nothin' to worry about…" He trailed off with another set of coughs.

Mattie narrowed his eyes even more and rolled his eyes. "'Just a scuffle', my ass." Sighing, he stood up again and turned to look at the other four people- assuming they _were _people.

"Well? What do I need to do?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest with what he hoped was an impatient and not desperate or concerned look on his face.

The second voice from earlier answered him. "Can't you see? His arm is obviously broken, he was limping before we sat him down, and, oh yes, there's _blood everywhere!_"

Mattie whistled, ignoring the comment on his sight. "Damn, just that?" He turned to Søren. "What are you doing then, calling me over?"

Another laugh from Søren. "Oh man, that wasn't for me! Silly Jas, you really think these dumb scratches are enough for me to want help?" He continued without waiting for an answer. "No! My little friend here needs some attention, as soon as possible."

"And who's that? Are they here?" Mattie asked, now interested.

The voice Søren had called 'Niel' interrupted again, now laced with more panic than before. "Søren, who _is _this?!" It asked.

Søren sighed. "You two haven't been introduced? Weird. Anyways, Jas, this guy is Niels Ärud. Probably mentioned him? I think he would be turquoise. And Niel, this is- yeah, I know I've told you about him. The other three are Tuulí-" the short, violet aura moved in recognition "-Berwald-" the tallest one bobbed its head "-and Katjana." The remaining salmon-colored aura stayed still. " She's the one who needs help."

Mattie nodded, fixing his attention on the unmoving aura. It was hardly there at all, just a very faint pink. There were plenty of patches showing a reddish color or white, which was very concerning. Not good at all.

In one swift move, Mattie dropped to his knees again in front of Katjana. A quiet whimper answered him.

Oh boy. A child, too. Mattie snapped his head over to the four other people, glaring harshly. "Would anyone like to tell me why none of you were doing _anything_?" He asked calmly, looking from person to person.

Niels, Berwald and Tuulí all made a noise of confusion. "How-?" Niels tried to ask.

Søren snickered and shook his head. "Don't ask, Jas isn't _that _blind."

Mattie dropped the anger for a second. "Wait, yes I am- nevermind, that's not important. I want an answer."

"Uh," a female voice replied, "um, we- couldn't?"

Rolling his eyes, Mattie turned to Søren. "Why?" He repeated, quickly losing patience.

"We're not near any water, which rules out Niels and Berwald's help, and Tuulí's human. I'll explain more later, okay? Just do your best."

Mattie took a deep breath, very unsatisfied with the answer. He focused back on Katjana anyways.

"Hey," he greeted kindly, putting a gentle smile on his face, "how are you doing?"

A stupid question to ask, he knew, but familiarity would not hurt.

Katjana exhaled shakily. "...N-not so well." She whispered. She had a very noticeable voice, strangely monotone and quiet, and Mattie suddenly thought if she sang, it would be extraordinarily beautiful.

Mattie cocked his head. "Yeah? I'm sorry about that. Could you tell me where you're hurt, sweetheart?"

The girl let out a noise that could have been a laugh. "Well, um, my stomach...and-"

"We'll start with that, then." Mattie interrupted, smile still present.

"O-okay."

Mattie reached out slowly, searching for Katjana's injured body.

"Um, sir?" She asked, confused.

He stopped immediately. "Hm?"

"...That's...the ground? I'm- I'm right here?"

She took his hand and started to guide it towards herself.

"Oh." Mattie felt the blood rush to his face. "I'm sorry-"

The girl laughed again, a little louder. "'s okay, you have a good excuse."

Mattie shifted, thinking. The whole 'blind' thing might be a problem. He would need a second person to help him heal Katjana. But who? Not Søren, the idiot _was _hurt, not any of the other new ones. He didn't trust them enough. Maybe…? That would work…

"Okay," he decided, slowly standing up, "I will be _right _back with someone else to help me. Is that alright with you...kid?"

He mentally sighed. Kid? _Really? _

Niels answered instead. "No, that isn't alright! She could _die!_" He argued.

"But she won't. And it's not your decision." Mattie countered, once more rolling his eyes.

Katjana cleared her throat. "I-I'll be fine, go ahead." She nodded.

Mattie smiled at her and snapped his fingers. A split second later, he was gone.

* * *

"Peter," Mattie called out as soon as his surroundings settled, "come with me." He held out his hand.

The whole group was stunned, to say the least. They all stood, frozen, staring at Mattie like he had just grown another head.

Gilbert cleared his throat, shaking his head. "Okay, no. You're not taking him away to some desolate place while we all worry ourselves sick over him!" He crossed his arms confidently.

Mattie paused for a moment, then scoffed. "Oh, do shut up, won't you? I need his help."

"Why?"

"Why must you ask me?"

"Maybe if you would actually _tell_ me something now and then, we wouldn't be arguing!"

"This isn't _arguing_, Gilbert. You just- oh my God, forget it." Mattie shook his head and grabbed Peter's arm. In a blink of the eye, Mattie had brought the two back to Katjana and the others.

* * *

Back on the path, Gilbert was more than a little upset. How _dare _he simply get up and go, taking Peter with him?

Granted, it was only a little while away, and Peter had not refused. Gilbert was the leader here, and it was kind of in the job description to know where everyone was! Mattie could be leading the kid to his death over there, and Gilbert would not even know.

He huffed. If only Matt were in charge, this whole situation could have gone a lot smoother.

Looking around at his fellow companions, he could tell they were just as confused and upset as him. Or, maybe just confused.

Arthur blinked rapidly, trying to process what had happened. One moment, everything was fine. The next, Mattie had teleported away, coming back a minute later and taking Peter back again with him.

"Um, Gilbert?" He dared to ask, turning to look at him.

Gilbert sighed. "There's nothing we can really do but wait here, I think. Unless anyone has any ideas?...No? That's what I thought." He leaned up against a tree and slowly slid down, sitting with his legs crossed.

* * *

Peter shut his eyes as Mattie teleported. He knew- after a bad experience or two -that it was far better to close his eyes, because there were some unpleasant effects if you didn't. Like, your eyes might get pulled out of your skull. Which was not very pleasant- not that he had done that before, of course. He wasn't _that _dumb.

When he felt solid ground once again, only a moment later, he opened them again to see four different people than those that were there before.

Peter blinked. And blinked again.

This was oddly...familiar?

He took a better look at the four. There was one leaning against a tree, and- oh!

"Jas!" He exclaimed, tugging at Mattie's sleeve. "Jas, he's hurt, help him!"

Mattie nodded. "I know, that's what you're here for. But Søren isn't the priority," he said quickly, "it's the little girl." He led Peter the next few feet to where Katjana was lying.

"I just need you to tell me where she's hurt. Can you do that?" Mattie asked quickly, dragging Peter to kneel in front of her with him.

Peter simply looked at Mattie, extremely confused. "What are you talking about, Mattie?" He wondered.

"What? I'm talking about saving this girl's life, that's what-"

The boy cut him off with sigh. "Mattie," he started carefully, "Mattie, there's no one there."

* * *

Yoooooo, how's it hanging? School (or work, or whatever you're doing right now) not too rough? I hope so!

So, yeah. Here are the long awaited Nordics! Like them? I like them. It was hard writing them, seeing as I've never done it before, but guess who helped me with that! (Hint: starts with Italian, and ends with Skunk.)

Wow, you got it! Yes, it _was _my friend! How did you figure that one out? Anyways, yeah. They helped so much with the characterizations (I had no idea what i was doing, still don't) as well as providing the names. I did change a couple, but that's about it. Thank you very much! By the way, I'm almost done with your list!

What now...right! Story recommendation time! Alright! So, this time it's **Wings **by sukikuro. It's such a great story. It's about Spain, and how he can see souls. That's all I'm saying, because otherwise I'd ruin it! It _is _a series of one-shots, but it's totally worth it.

I think that's about it for now! Thank you guys so much for all the wonderful reviews you've given me, it means so much. Like, really, I can't stress it enough. Ever! ^^

If you have any suggestions, found any errors, or- oh! Oh yes! I forgot to ask: what do you think the Nordics are? Respectively? I gave you Søren and Tuulí's, so what about the other ones? (Italian Skunk, you can't answer, and you know why.)

See you all later! Have an awesome day!


	13. Chapter 13

"_What? I'm talking about saving this girl's life, that's what-"_

_The boy cut him off with sigh. "Mattie," he started carefully, "Mattie, there's no one there."_

* * *

The words sent an unexpected chill down Mattie's spine. Peter had to be joking with him or something cruel like that, since clearly Katjana was right there, sitting on the ground. There was no way she could have up and vanished - someone would have said something.

Confidently, Mattie shook his head. He pointed in the direction of Katjana's aura, and with a skeptical, soft voice, asked, "You mean to tell me...that you see nothing right there?"

Peter went quiet for a long moment. What he was thinking, doing, Mattie had no idea, but when he eventually did speak up, it was so unexpectedly pleading Mattie recoiled a little.

"Mattie, please just _stop_. I don't know what you see, but I know all I see is the ground."

Whipping his head around so he could glare at Søren, Mattie started to huffily complain. Before he could get far enough so it would hurt, Søren, unsurprisingly, laughed.

Mattie distantly wondered how Søren could still manage to laugh when he was half-dead. It was a trait not many people had, but it was debatable whether that was a good thing or not.

"Hm, well..." Søren chuckled almost dismissively. "Technically, Peter's right. But so are you, I guess."

And there went Mattie's patience out the window, and he full out growled. Fists clenched, he stepped closer to the human despite the warnings Søren's friends gave him. "Do _not_ test me," he ground out, "or I will make you regret it."

Another laugh from Søren, sounding only amused. "C'mon, Jazzy! We're all friends here. Just gimme a minute to explain, will ya?"

Søren cleared his throat and started to stand up. He was immediately pushed back down, gently, with chides from his companions.

Mattie practically felt the injured man's eyes roll from where he was.

"Well," Søren coughed again, "this is just a big misunderstanding - as well as a waste of time here, and if you're really gonna go and heal 'Jana over here, like you said-" Mattie scoffed, offended. "-then we need to get this over with."

"Søren, that's enough with the dramatics." Niklas sighed tiredly, apparently done with Søren't useless talking. His aura shifted to the side, causing Mattie to think Niklas had turned towards him. "Katjana is one of the hüldufolk. That's why Peter - that _is _your name, correct? - cannot see her. Though...I'm not sure why you can."

Niklas might have gone on speaking, but Mattie was not listening anymore. A hüldufolk?

_Is that so? _Matt wondered softly, startling the other. He had almost forgotten Matthew was still there, surprisingly enough. Matthew was always so quiet.

Mattie shrugged, ignoring everyone else's presence for the time being. "I guess- I mean, it would explain a lot, huh." He murmured, quiet enough so the others hopefully could not hear him.

Hüldufolk. His mind, and maybe Matt, too, immediately supplied him with information. An Icelandic race, though they were sometimes found in Norway as well, they were elf-like creatures with multiple human similarities. Generally small in stature. It was said that they were the children of Eve or Lilith, and were one day hidden from God by their mother. So God, being the..._kind _thing he was, cursed them to be hidden from everyone else as well. The only known way one could even see one of the hüldufolk was through direct permission from it.

Certainly an interesting discovery, to say the least for Mattie. It had been far too long since he had laid eyes on one.

A moment later, he nodded. "Okay. Okay, I can deal with that. Katjana," he said softly, turning to the little girl, "would it please you to give Peter approval?"

She hummed faintly, as if thinking about it. So be it, they could wait. No- no they couldn't!

"Wait! No, Katjana, I'm afraid there isn't time for that." Mattie swiftly declared, stepping over to her and motioning Niklas towards the two of them. He heard shuffling in the grass, and a weight as well as a blue aura settled down on its knees in front of Katjana. "We need to heal you, dear." He almost whispered, dropping down to her level as well.

Niklas huffed. "About time. I was thinking you would let her die."

"You would not have let me." Mattie replied simply. "Now help me. I need to know where her wounds are, and hurry." He held out a hand for Niklas to take. "Just point it out. Peter," he said louder so the boy could hear him, "you can go back now."

He snapped, and Peter was gone. A faint crash could be heard from across the way, where Gilbert and his crew were. Presumably, that was Peter. Hopefully.

* * *

Peter was grateful he remembered to close his eyes before Mattie dropped him. He was also happily glad to have left anyways, as the uncomfortable stares he had been getting were making him antsy. Who knew first impressions could be so...awkward?

He ignored the voice in his head saying insistently, _Not first impressions, not not not don't you __**remember**__-_

It didn't mean anything, right? He had been wrong before, this was just another one of those times. And yet, a memory buried in his past bubbled forth, forcing him to watch it.

* * *

_The first thing Peter noticed was that he was younger. Far, far younger than he should even recall. He was...human? Though the notion was impossible, it seemed right somehow. Like maybe, if he closed his eyes and thought, it was where he should have belonged._

_The second thing he saw was that he was in a house had never seen before, but recognized it immediately as his parents'. That made even less sense - he didn't have any parents, none of the fairies did. They were just...there. Existing. No blood family, generally, only family you made yourself. _

_Peter always wondered why that was, but it was never all that important to him. After all, hadn't he worked this hard to make his family? Wasn't he happy with it? Of course he was. That didn't mean he couldn't imagine what it would be like. _

_This feeling, the one he got when he took his first (was it?) look around the room of this house...this might just be that feeling._

_He caught a glimpse of blond hair, light eyes, a happy face, a kind smile, the gentlest way he had ever heard his name being said since Gilbert found him all those years ago, before he blinked, and it was all gone._

* * *

"Peter?" A voice called out through the black, concerned, harsher than in his memory but Peter found he didn't mind.

He blinked again, and again and again until his sight cleared to reveal a definitely-worried Arthur staring at him with green eyes wide open.

"Peter!" He repeated, reaching out for Peter. Arthur must have had second thoughts, because he quickly retracted his hand again by his side. "Are you alright? You came back, and - and just blacked out or something. What happened?"

What happened indeed? Peter himself wasn't quite sure, but he told what he knew. Mattie teleported him back to them, and it just took him a second to recover. Nothing happened, he was fine, yes there were humans and others on the other side of that path, no it's not anything to worry about, no, Gilbert, you can't go check, this is Mattie's job- and so it went, for a good while, answering everyone's questions.

Everything was fine.

* * *

"There, I think that should just about do it, little one." Mattie smiled at where he thought Katjana's face was as he gently patted her newly-healed knee and slowly stood up. He stretched for a long moment, satisfied at the faint cracks he heard. "Did I get everything, do you think?"

Katjana let out a faint, bell-like laugh. She moved to stand up, judging by her aura, and Niklas, who had been hovering nearby after pointing out Katjana's wounds, rushed to help her.

"You did." Katjana affirmed softly, her accent clear. "Thank you so, so much. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if you weren't here..."

"Then don't." Mattie offered kindly.

"Of course. I won't."

Mattie paused for a moment. "Is there anything else any of you need?" he asked quietly. "If not, I believe we need-"

Søren interrupted Mattie with a laugh, causing the blonde to scowl. "Oh, Jazzy! You're too kind. We'll be alright, won't we, guys?"

"Of course!" answered Tuulí immediately, almost startling Mattie. He had forgotten she was there. "Thank you so much..." she faltered, "er, sir. But if you could do one more thing? So sorry to bother you."

Mattie shrugged. "I'm not a celebrity or anything, it's no bother at all."

"Right...I know Søren won't say anything, but we're all worried for him. He's such an idiot sometimes-"

"I'm right here?"

"-and he _did _get pretty hurt. We can't do anything, could you - could you please see what you could do?"

Without another word, Mattie stepped closer to Søren and placed two fingertips on his forehead. He focused for a moment, eyes closed.

He knew Søren could feel the power flowing into his veins, settling in the injured spots on his body - even places Søren probably didn't know were hurt. Mattie knew this feeling like a second skin.

His eyes flew open again, glowing red for a split second before the normal color returned, and Søren was healed.

There was silence for a good full minute. Mattie fought a smirk.

"...If you could heal Søren that quickly," Niklas finally said, a frown evidemt in his voice, "then why did it take so much for Katjana?"

"Good question." Mattie nodded, regally stepping back and folding his hands behind his back. "It's mostly because healing like that can be pretty personal for reasons I don't care to say. But also because it heals, well, _everything_. I don't know Katjana well, and would hate to do something I would regret to her."

Another silence. "Oh." Niklas finally replied, seemingly satisfied. "...Very well, then."

Mattie did smirk then, but hid it as he turned. "Anything else?"

"Thanks, Jas." Søren sighed, standing up again. "You're the best, you know, kid."

"I'm not a kid," Mattire disagreed fondly, smirk turning into a smile despite himself, "but no problem. I'll be seeing you around?"

Søren chuckled. "See ya. Don't get into any trouble now, you hear?"

"Of course." And with that, Mattie was gone again in the blink of an eye.

* * *

I've rewritten this chapter twelve times.


	14. Okay, okay, one more important update!

Hey guys! I know it's been a long time since any actual content, but I have one more update for you all. (Sorry, sorry, I'm trying not to make this common.)

I'm going to rewrite Safe Haven! Yep. I've decided that the best way to get on with the plot, and fix it, is to rewrite the entire thing. Oh boy. So, that's what I've been doing! I'm working on the first chapter now, so it might be a little while (read: definitely less than six months) before the first one comes out. It's going great so far, now that I have a better idea of where everything is going.

I normally hate it when people rewrite their stories and delete the old one, you know? So I'm keeping the original story around, without a doubt. It'll still be there for us to make fun of or something, I don't know. Do whatever you want.

But yeah! That's what's going to happen! Look for the new rewrite if you'd like, ask any questions if you want...yep. I can't think of anything else to say, so bye for now! Have a wonderful day, you.


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